


Spellbound: The Curse of the Lucifractor

by Dxlilith



Category: My Babysitter's A Vampire
Genre: Because Cliffhangers Are My Kryptonite, M/M, Post-Date To End All Dates, Season Three AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 01:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16651438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dxlilith/pseuds/Dxlilith
Summary: Benny is aware of a few things. One is that he is awake and having his eyes open is only slightly less dark than having them closed. Another is that he's lying on a pile of warmth.





	1. Fallout

_They're running down the hall, four sets of feet striking hardwood as they attempt to get as far away as possible._

_"What's happening Ethan?!" Benny's voice cracks._  

_"Stern is absorbing the power inside the Lucifractor!"_

_"Won't that make him more powerful!?" Sarah yells back._

_"Sarah, get your boyfriend and follow me!" Jesse calls out as he snatches Benny off his feet. "We're heading to the crypt, there's no way we'll make it out of Whitechapel in time!"_

_In seconds, the vampires drag the humans into the depths of the Vampire Council’s building. Once there, Jesse drops Benny and jumps into the nearest empty coffin._

_A magical pulse emits throughout the building._

_"PRAESIDIUM!!!" Benny shouts as he tackles Sarah and Ethan into an open tomb._

_A second pulse, this one complete with an explosion, emits across all of Whitechapel, coating everything in a thick purple smog only swallow itself back up again._

 

* * *

 

Benny is aware of a few things. One is that he is awake and having his eyes open is only slightly less dark than having them closed. Another is that he's lying on a pile of warmth. He snaps his fingers and creates a tiny ball of light. 

Ethan. He’s laying across Ethan’s chest whose breathing comes out in slow rises. He stares at the boy’s face, searching for any signs of injury until he hears coughing to his right. Benny turns his head and finds that his legs are lying across Sarah’s torso. 

“Sarah.” He whispers, “you okay?”

“I will be once you get off me.” She whines, her voice full of dust.

Benny slips his hands onto either side of Ethan’s head to feel the ground beneath them and pushes up. He moves his legs off of Sarah, wedges himself between her and Ethan, his hip landing onto a strange knot. 

“Ow!” Sarah cries out, snatching her hand from underneath Benny.

“Sorry!” 

“It’s okay...” Sarah says as she rubs her hand. “Is Ethan ok?”

“Yeah. He’s okay. Hey E, wakey-wakey eggs and...lucifractory?”

“Benny...” Sarah groans.

The aforementioned teen continues to stare down into Ethan’s sleeping face. A tendril of panic coils in his throat when there’s no response. “Ethan, don’t hate me but...” Benny places his palm onto Ethan’s chest and mutters a spell. It’s meant to be a harmless jolt, his grandmother often using it on him when he has slept past his alarm. Ethan’s eyes burst open and he sits up faster than Benny can accommodate room for and their heads knock together with a resounding crack.

“BENNY!” Ethan groans, rubbing his head where a lump is sure to form.

“Sorry, I may have used a little more juice than I was supposed to.”

“Let’s just get out of here.” Sarah’s hands reach out around her, following the stone walls until she reaches just above her, her fingers slipping into a crack.

“Yeah, definitely.” Ethan, now that stars have stopped swirling in front of his eyes, reaches up above his head. He motions to Benny to do the same and the three of them push up, the stone lid scraping against the walls.

“Are we in a coffin?” Benny asks when they begin to slide the stone to the right, light pouring in from Ethan’s side.

“Yeah, you pushed us into it.” Ethan says incredulously.

“I did?” 

“Yeah, you shouted something and this cloudy blue light appeared.” Sarah says as the lid slides out of their hands and off the coffin completely. She waits for the sound of it hitting the floor, a dull thud, to stop echoing before continuing. “It’s the last thing I remember before passing out.” 

She stands up, dusting off her clothes and climbing out. Ethan follows, holding his hand out for Benny. He takes it, swinging one leg over the coffin and stepping out.

“I literally remember none of that.” 

Benny takes in their surroundings. Coffins sit around them in neat rows of four but with rubble and debris littered everywhere and in between. Clouds of dust swirl through the air cut by the light filtering through a giant hole in the ceiling. 

“Where’s Jesse?”

“Over...here.” 

There’s a cough followed by a shuddering breath somewhere behind them. They turn and search the crypt for where it could have come from and find a coffin with it’s lid half opened. They run over to it and look inside. To their mutual shock, inside is a withered old man. His hair, long and white as snow, tangles down until his hips where familiar clothing barely clings to his thin frame.

“Jesse!” Sarah gasps. “What happened?!”

“The...Lucifractor..” His eyes fight to open but remain shut. “I’m...going to...die..." He wheezes out one last time. "human.”

The three teens look on as his form completely stills. No one wants to says anything until Benny whispers a spell and the lid to the coffin slides shut. The events of the last twenty-four hours finally washing over them.

“Sarah, this means you’re human too.”

“What?”

“I, I can _sense_ your heart beating.” Ethan turns to the girl, the faintest of smiles forming on his lips.

“What!” Sarah repeats. 

A flash of Benny’s cellphone goes off and the taller teen holds it up to her. Sarah stares at a picture of herself for the first time in two years.

“ _I_ _’m human_.” She whispers. Her hand covering her mouth as if the words themselves would jinx it. She takes the phone from Benny and brings it as close to her face as possible as tears begin filling her eyes.

_**I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sarah this happy before, she’s so...** _

_**Beautiful.** _

**_Ethan?! Are you in my head?!_** Benny looks over at the shorter boy who is already smiling at him. _**You’re not even touching me!**_

**_My powers are much stronger, I sense that so are yours._ **

**_I...is that what this feeling is?_ **Benny looks down at his hands and finally acknowledges the relentless buzzing under his skin. 

_**Yeah.**_ Ethan smiles, his shoulder bumping into Benny’s. _ **And don’t worry, I won’t read your mind without your permission.**_

_**No worries E, I got nothing to hide from you.** _

_**You do.** _

“What?” Benny says out loud.

“GUYS I’M HUMAN AGAIN!!!” Sarah finally draws out of her shock and launches herself at them. Her smaller arms tug the two boys together as she kisses either ones cheek. “NO MORE RAT SNACKS OR BLOOD DELIVIERIES!!! NO MORE SUNGLASSES AND SUNBLOCK AND I CAN PUT GARLIC ON EVERYTHING AND AND AND...” 

“And everything else that comes with being human?” Offers Ethan. 

Sarah nods and removes her arm from Benny but slides a hand into Ethan’s. Their eyes lock.

“Uh...I’ll just....be over here then.” Benny mumbles. There’s a fluttering feeling in his chest that he refuses to acknowledge and focuses instead on a broken coffin. A large chunk of ceiling had fallen through it, severing it right down the middle. Benny wills it to repair itself and it does just that. No invocation, no hand gestures. He simply thinks _fix yourself_ and the crumbled marble reforms itself back into a whole.  

“Hey E, didya see...” he turns back to find that Ethan is still in a staring contest with Sarah. “Guys! Enough with the goo-goo eyes, we should probably check out the rest of Whitechapel.”

Ethan pulls away with a goofy grin on his face. He whispers something Benny is too far away to hear but Sarah nods her head and turns around. Her hands fall to her side.

“Why don’t you teleport us to your house Benny? We can check on your Grandma first.”

“Dude, you know that spell never actually worked.”

“Before. You should try it out now with your new and improved magic.”

“Benny too?” Sarah asks.

Ethan only smiles, looking at Benny like he’s the brightest pupil in class. The fluttering in Benny’s chest triples. He walks up to the Sarah and Ethan, taking either one of their hands in his. They look back at him expectantly and he is reminded of just how Ethan broke Stern’s fear binding spell.

“ _Detrahet me in domum suam_!” 

"Woah." 

The word spills from all three as Sarah, Benny, and Ethan materialize in a hazy sparkle of gold on Benny’s front porch.

"That was actually better than running at vampire speed." Sarah beams up at Benny who instantly blushes because when had Sarah ever complimented him?

“You’ll definitely have something to fall back on if you don’t get your license. Or car for that matter.” Ethan smirks.

Benny frowns but actually agrees. He lets go of their hands and waves his at the door in counter-clock circles. This activates the magic wards his grandmother placed on the house and allows them entrance. Once the door opens, Benny's eyes zero in on the couch. Finding it empty he calls out.  “Grandma?!” 

"In here!" Her dulcet voice carries through the hall and all three teens rush into the kitchen to find the earth priestess sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of something steaming in her hand.

"Grandma!" Benny runs to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and snuggling his face into her shoulder. She lets go of her mug to bring her arms up to hug him back. 

"Benjamin, I missed you too." She plants a kiss on his forehead and catches sight of Sarah and Ethan. "Well, if it isn't The All-Powerful Seer and The Human Babysitter."

Sarah's face lights up and she dives into the hug, snuggling up into Grandma Weir's other shoulder. Ethan stands back, basking in the glow of all the joy coming off of them.

" Now tell me..."

"LET US IN!!" A frantic banging at the front door cuts through the happy reunion.

"Is that...Rory?” Benny lifts his head up.

"Open up now!!!"

"Erica!" 

Sarah removes herself from Evelyn’s embrace and runs to the door, swinging it wide open. Haggard and breathing heavy, she finds Rory and Erica hanging off each other to keep upright. Their fangs visible, their eyes flashing, and skin smoking. "You can come in!" 

Erica pushes Rory into Sarah and stumbles in behind them, somehow making three feet in before simply passing out onto the living room floor. 

"Anastasia said we'd die if we came back and I don't think she was lying but...we had to make sure you guys were ok." Rory whispers into Sarah's neck as he too loses consciousness. 

"Why are they still smoking?" Benny walks in with Grandma and Ethan.

"The effects of the Lucifractor." Ethan says knowingly. 

"We might not feel it but vampires are made of pure dark energy. The lingering effects of the blast are still very present."

"Then we have to get them out of Whitechapel before they die!” Sarah readjusts Rory in her arms. He was so much heavier now that she only had her human strength to rely on.

"I've got a better idea. Benny, the protection charm on page 323. We’ve used it before on my lilies remember?"

Benny nods and the two spell casters raise their hands. In synchronized circular motions they incant. " _Obice defendat_.”

Twin blue lights surround the sleeping vampires. They levitate onto the couch, side by side, leaving their slumbering bodies sat down as if they’d simply fallen asleep watching television. 

“That should give them a couple days of rest and protection. But I'm afraid we're not quite done with the Lucifractor.”

“We should destroy it.” Sarah seethes.

“No!” Benny’s protest is loud and now three pairs of eyes stare at him. “What I mean is, we can’t destroy something like that. We can convert it, contain it even! Make sure it never gets used!”

“But you want to keep it..." Sarah eyes Benny suspiciously. 

“Well...Yeah?"

“As much as I hate the idea, Benny may be right. You can’t just destroy a power like that, it should be contained and locked away. Hopefully it’s been weaken from its recent use but we need to convert it somehow so that your friends can survive and no one else can ever use it."

"Then it's settled. We go back to the Council and take back the Lucifractor. Let's roll out!" Benny strides through the hall until he’s near the door but when he senses no one else following, he turns around. No one is looking at him this time.

"I'm really tired and...now that I'm human...” Sarah’s voice is quiet. “I don't know how much help I would be. I'm...I'm sorry guys..." 

Benny doesn't have to be a Seer to feel the guilt coming off the girl. He looks to his best friend. "Ethan?" 

"I did sense something back there." Ethan walks over so he’s standing next to Benny. "I feel okay, better than actually. I've got your back." 

"We'll look after Rory and Erica, after you eat something young lady." Grandma Weir places her hands gently onto Sarah's shoulder. "You boys have an hour." She eyes the two boys with a customary glare.

Both nod and turn to face one another. Ethan holds his hand out, smiling like they were about to head to the mall and pick up the latest copy of Zombies vs Ninjas. Benny smiles back and takes Ethan's hand in his. 

“ _Detrahet me ut primus!_ ”

Soon the familiar feeling of their feet lifting off the ground and butterflies in their bloodstream consumes them as a hazy gold light surrounds them. Then nothing. They disappear completely from Evelyn’s sitting room.

 

* * *

 "Woah." Benny says for the second time in less than an hour as they materialize in front of the now demolished Vampire Council.

"I know right!" There's a glee in Ethan's voice that's infectious and has Benny smiling a mile-wide grin. "We should head for where we left Stern, if it's still standing." 

 

Benny nods and lets Ethan lead the way. They walk in comfortable silence despite the tumbling over broken stone and structure. Benny would normally fill the air with his idle chatter while Ethan would gladly add to but there was nothing to talk about. At least not for Benny. He was still adjusting to the amount of power coursing through him.

It was strange. He didn't actually feel any different from before the blast. Except of course for the constant buzzing under his skin and his need to destroy was gone. Stern had brainwashed him pretty good and even though Ethan deployed his stop evil Benny spell, he had still felt drawn to the Lucifractor. Even when Ethan was physically pulling, and shoving him, he was drawn to that vile thing. But now? Now he felt like everything he could ever want was already in hand. Everything except...

"Me.”

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I kind of picked up on your thoughts...I didn't mean to." Ethan holds up his hands in a surrendering fashion. "I'm really in tune with you Benny, it's like I can shut off the entire world...except you."

The words cause a stirring in Benny's stomach. He feels like there is something he needs to say but what is it? 

"I'm right here Benny, I'm not going anywhere.”

"I know that. Best buds forever, right?"

"Forever yeah. And Sarah hasn't replaced you. No one can." Ethan turns around, so that Benny would have to stop right in front of him.

"It's not like that..." Benny doesn't know what it's like though. He can't put it into words. This feeling of...

"I’m all yours Benny." Ethan smiles, the words falling from his lips innocently enough.

"Ethan..." Benny whines, almost whimpering. He’s beginning to feel uncomfortable. Like they were skirting around a topic he'd long since thrown into a box at the back of his brain locker, never meant to see the light of day.

“Benny. If you said it out loud, the world wouldn’t end.” 

“We should get back to...” Benny doesn’t finish the sentence because his shoulder brushes Ethan’s and there’s a surge of electric energy that passes through him. He looks at Ethan, wondering if it was his doing but found him only staring back at him as if he was the one to have caused it.

“Let’s keep going.” Benny shakes it off, continuing to walk up the half fallen staircase where he thinks he remembers Stern being. He hears Ethan following close behind but doesn’t say anything. 

They reach the landing and find the hall they’d gone running through with Jesse. Benny continues on, determined to get this mission over with and go home and eat pizza and sleep away all these crazy teenage hormones firing away inside him. Because that's all this was, wasn't it? That and all this damn magic.

It isn’t until they make it inside the Caller room that they feel the mass of energy pulsating. Where Stern once stood, consumed by his need for power, now only lies a puddle of tattered robes. It’s there that their eyes find the dim glow of the Lucifractor. 

“Don’t touch it!” Ethan scolds, his voice cutting through like daggers into Benny’s ears. It’s only then that Benny realizes he’s already on his knees with his hands poised just above the purple orb.

“Okay.” Benny looks up at Ethan who stands over him. “I won’t.” He says quietly. He looks back at the orb, harmlessly lying in a pile of cloth and it gives Benny an idea.

“ _Instaurado linteum._ ” 

Yellow lights shoot from his fingers and into the fabric. It lifts up and over the orb, wrapping itself around and tying itself at the top.

“ _Ignis_ _tange_.” 

Soft orange flames encircle the fabric without actually causing it to burn.

“ _Sequi me domum_.” 

Blue light swirls around the flames, causing a kaleidoscope of dancing lights to blend with the flames. 

Benny stands and the now fully encased Lucifractor follows along.  “There. Now it’ll follow us without having to touch it because if we do, it’ll burn us with a magical eternal fire. And that hurts. Trust me.”

“Impressive.” Ethan awes. 

“Oh you know...” Benny attempts some bravado but the starry-eyed look Ethan is giving him is causing his chest to flutter. “Let’s go home and get some pizza!”

“Fine by me.” Ethan walks up to Benny and instead of taking his hand as before, he steps right into Benny’s personal bubble of space and hugs him. He wraps his arms around Benny until they meet at the middle of Benny’s back and leans his head against Benny’s chest so that his ear is against his beating heart.

“Uh, Ethan...didn’t realize you...were such... a cuddlebear.” Benny stammers out. He hates himself for even trying because it does feel nice and they’ve certainly hugged before. And there was nothing necessarily wrong with this hug other than the fact that Benny’s heart wanted to beat right out of his chest.

“I'm just really glad everything worked out.” Ethan sighs. "Take us home Benny." 

Benny nods. He allows his hands to fall onto Ethan’s shoulders and closes his eyes to concentrate on the teleportation spell.

“ _Detrahet me in domum suam_.”

Benny waits for the floating sensation to end before opening his eyes. 

“Oops.” 

Instead of his house, they stand in the middle of Ethan’s bedroom. The encased orb floating next to them.

“That was my fault, sorry. I’m still trying to reign in my influence.” Ethan mutters softly, slowly slipping away from Benny but only enough to let their arms fall away. “Let’s head over to your house, you’re starting to lose steam.”

“I feel perfectly...” but before Benny could finish the sentence, a yawn breaks through. A sudden wave of drowsiness hits him and all he wants is to lay down on Ethan’s space themed mattress.

“Cmon’ buddy. It’ll only take us a few minutes to get the Lucifractor to your grandma and tuck you into bed.”

“Okay.” Benny makes no complaints as Ethan maneuvers himself under one of his arms to help support his weight as they walk. They make it through the door and down the hall and out the front door and across the lawn before Sarah runs out of Benny’s house.

“You guys ok?” 

“Yeah, Benny’s just used a lot of magic in a short amount of time. His body’s not used to it.”

Sarah looks up at the taller boy hanging off Ethan and he smiles a dopey grin, his eyes barely open. 

“What he said.” Benny mumbles.

Sarah returns the smile and places herself under his other arm and together they walk into the house. The enchanted Lucifractor steadily bobbing in the air behind them.

 

* * *

 

“That should do it.” Evelyn levitates the Lucifractor into a small box not dissimilar to the cubile animus, still encased in Benny’s flame spell. “The chest itself is a powerful barrier to hide the presence of any magic.” She waves her hand over the chest and it makes a soft clicking noise. “And in a few days time, the lingering effects should dissipate allowing Rory and Erica to walk around Whitechapel freely.” 

“Thank you Grandma Weir.” 

Sarah is kneeling near Erica. She'd just finish rearranging her into a small wooden coffin. Rory laid in a similar one right next to her. They were from Evelyn’s vast collection of supernatural wares. She also had Sarah line the coffins with soil from Transylvania. This would ensure their recovery process would go smoother.

“They’re going to be just fine dear.” Evelyn appears near Sarah, a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, I know...” she reaches out and brushes some of Erica’s hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ear. “I just feel so...useless now.”

“Oh sweetie.” Evelyn crouches down despite her knees protesting. She tilts Sarah’s chin up to her so that their eyes meet. “You have always been brave and willing to protect your friends, you no longer being a vampire changes none of that.”

“I guess, yeah.” Sarah smiles.

“Help me up dear and I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Okay, thank you.” Sarah stands with the elderly woman, sparing one last glance at her sleeping friends.

* * *

 “Jesus Christ Benny, your feet smell!” Ethan coughs, chucking Benny’s sneakers into a random corner of his room.

“How about now?” Mumbles Benny, a trickle of pink lights shooting from his finger to his feet. Pink Gerber daisies grow from his socks. 

“My favorite.” Ethan shakes his head but scoops up the flowers and places them on Benny’s nightstand before turning back to the barely awake wizard. He had managed to wrangle Benny out of his jacket but Benny laid himself out before he could take off anything else off so he was just going to sleep in his clothes. Benny wasn’t even bothering with the covers, settling for nuzzling with his pillow.

 

“Are you comfy buddy?”

“Mmhmm.” Benny nods his head against the pillow, eyes closed with a comical grin on his face.

“Okay, well get some sleep.”

“Okay E.”

Ethan walks over to the door, flicking the light switch off. Benny turns once more in bed so that his back was facing Ethan.

“Tomorrow we’re going to talk. It's about something really important ok?” Ethan almost whispers.

"Anything you want E."

“G'night B."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use google to find the spell words, all in Latin. It's probably not the right words at all but the show CLEARLY makes half of the words up so there's that. These are the close approximation of what the words mean.
> 
> Praesidium: Protection  
> Detrahet me in domum suam: Bring me home  
> Detrahet me ut primus: Bring me to the first  
> Instaurado linteum: Repair towel  
> Ignis tange: Fire touch  
> Sequi me domum: Follow me home


	2. Shelter

Hunger. That was one of the sure fire ways to wake Benny up even from the deepest of slumbers. The smell of bacon and eggs definitely helped. The teenaged spellcaster pulls away his sheets and sits up in bed. Yawning, he rubs the sleep from his eyes and moves off the bed. He heads straight to the bathroom. Twenty minutes of preening and hitting on his own reflection, he heads downstairs into the kitchen. 

“Benny!” Evelyn puts down the frying pan in her hand and rushes over to her grandson to wrap her arms around him. 

“Grandma!” He squawks but wraps his arms around her nonetheless. 

“Grandma nothing! You go into a magically induced coma worrying me and all your little friends who have to do the heavy lifting to convert the Lucifractor when it was your idea to begin with and all you have to say is Grandma!”

“What?”

Evelyn feels Benny tense up in her arms. She pulls away to look him in the eyes. “What is the last thing you remember dear?"

"Me and Ethan brought back the Lucifractor. I...I spellbound it with an eternal flame. Then I think I passed out I was so tired and I woke up about half an hour ago?"

"Today is Sunday. Sunday the fourth. You've been asleep for three days. Come sit down." Evelyn ushers Benny to the nearest seat at the kitchen table and fusses about until she places a steaming cup of tea in front of him. "You, Ethan, and Sarah, were all exposed to a powerful blast of magic and your bodies responded accordingly. Sarah was cured of her vampirism and Ethan unlocked countless abilities as a seer. But you Benny, you decided to develop the flow of magic in a human body not even fully matured into adulthood.”

"That does sound like a classic Benny move to me.” He gives her a lopsided grin which she returns with a withering stare.

"Magic flows Benny, it flows through us like water does a river. The more powerful the caster, the stronger the flow. You went from a trickling stream to rushing rapids. _You could have died Benjamin_ and I need you to understand that your magic can no longer be a hit or miss and that the rules of balance still very much apply."

Evelyn Weir levels a hard stare at her grandson with her lips drawn tight.

"Okay Grandma, I get it." Benny shifts in his seat, wanting to create some space between her stare and himself.

"Do you? Do you understand that you now have an unfair advantage over the average human, even the average witch or warlock? Do you understand that in this moment if you wanted to turn this mug of tea into a cat, you could without so much as an incantation? Do you understand that you are immensely powerful and must fight for good or risk becoming just as evil as Stern."

"Grandma! I'm the good guy here, always have been!" 

Evelyn quirks an eyebrow. 

"What? Ok so sometimes I get distracted and do spells that blur the lines of morality a little but on the whole I'm aligned on the side of good." Benny places a hand over his heart. "Promise."

Evelyn contemplates his answers and smiles. "Okay. Good. Now, let's get some food in you."

* * *

Before the hour is done, the house fills with people. Rory is surprisingly the first person to come over. Then it's Ethan who hugs Benny for a whole five minutes before letting go. Sarah and Erica are the last to arrive, with a basket full of muffins as a get well present. All Sarah's idea because Erica doesn't actually care, she was simply dragged by her best friend to check on the stupid witch boy.

"Wait! What happened to the Lucifractor?!" Benny jumps up from his seat on the couch, overturning the bowl of chips on Rory's lap. 

"Hey!"

"Sorry."

"Catch." Evelyn throws something small at Benny who catches it easily. Its a black cord necklace with a small, dark purple orb tied to it by a coiled copper wire. It's smooth surface shining in the room's lighting.

"This?"

"Magic." Ethan offers.

"Yeah, me and Erica went around the whole world finding the transfiguration elements. Stuff like Volcanic ash and bulbous kelp!" Rory recounts excitedly, already forgetting the chips spread across his lap and floor.

"Really only the northern hemisphere." Erica shrugs, too busy texting to even look up.

"Ethan and Sarah helped me cast the protection on it. I took a note from you and combined spells to create a foolproof disguise and diffuse spell. To the unseeing eye, it's a handmade necklace. To the trained eye, it's still just that. You'd have to know the spell combination to even look for it."

Benny looks deep into the stone, searching for any spark of magic or sigil or anything but finds nothing at all. He rubs the smooth stone once before putting it around his neck. “How’s it look?” 

"Tacky." Erica still hasn't looked up from her phone.

"It suits you." Ethan is grinning and it sends a little wave of giddiness into Benny's stomach before he slips the necklace underneath his shirt.

"So, what did I miss during my nap?"

All at once, the group of friends start chattering in varying degrees of excitability, all recounting the events of the last three days. But minutes become hours as the sun begins to set and the house grows quieter. Sarah is the first to leave with the excuse of homework. She hugs Benny tightly, a soft kiss to his cheek. There's a strange look in her eye, as if she wanted to tell Benny something but couldn't bring herself to do so. Erica simply exits behind her, waving a perfunctory goodbye. Rory follows shortly after babbling about winning her affection one day. Evelyn decides she wants to do some late gardening and leaves Ethan and Benny alone in the kitchen, picking at a bowl of homemade taffy.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something..." Benny says idly, twirling the empty wrapper in his hands.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Benny looks over at his best friend and finds him staring intently at him. "What, I got something on my face?" Benny wipes at his cheeks and mouth.

"No. Just admiring you."

Benny hopes he isn't blushing but the words make his cheeks feel flush. "Oh, you sweet talker you."

"Benny, do you remember what I said that night? After I left your room?"

"Uhhh." Benny scrunches up his face in thought. "You said we were gonna talk about something important! I'm all ears E."

"Not here.” Ethan looks behind him as if there was someone looming in a corner then back at Benny. “Let’s go to your room.”

“Oh...Kay.”

The two boys make the quick trip through the kitchen and up the stairs into Benny’s bedroom.

"So what is it you wanted to talk..." Benny stops when he turns and finds Ethan directly in front of him. The word “oh” forms on his lips but no sound comes out. Ethan closes the door behind him 

_**Benny.** _

_**Yeah?** _

_**I want to show you something.** _

_**Okay.** _

Ethan moves in closer to the taller teen. His hands come up to either side of Benny’s face and rest there. They’re warm and Benny fights the urge to close his eyes against the soft touch.

_**Pay attention.**_  

Benny nods. The heat of Ethan’s hands intensify but not uncomfortably. It was like being outside all day in the snow then coming into the house and handed a steaming cup of hot chocolate. It warms Benny literally from head to toe. He can’t really keep his eyes open anymore but he feels himself smiling and his heart is fluttering and his hands are tingling and he thinks maybe his feet aren’t touching the ground anymore.

“What is this...” he mumbles dreamingly.

_**Open your eyes.** _

Benny does as he’s told and finds Ethan smiling back at him, his hands still holding his face. But something is different. Benny feels much lighter and something tells him to look down. Sure enough, neither one of them are standing on the ground. They’re hovering about three feet off of it.

“Is this a Seer thing?” He asks in quiet awe.

“It’s a Seer and Spellmaster thing.” 

Benny’s face splits into a massive grin and impulsively he reaches out to Ethan, mirroring his hands on the either side of Ethan’s face. Ethan laughs and the warm feeling washes over anew and they begin floating up higher until their heads bump into the blades of Benny’s ceiling fan. This causes a burst of laughter from them and their lower halves begin to pull away until they form a 180 degree line parallel to Benny’s ceiling.

“This is a great party trick.” Benny laughs. 

Ethan smirks and pulls Benny’s face closer to his. They look into each other's eyes, dark brown exploring emerald green, before Ethan firmly presses his lips onto Benny’s. If his hands felt warm, Ethan's lips were like fire. They melt away any and all of Benny’s inhibitions, allowing for Ethan’s tongue to enter his waiting mouth. He is consumed by the flames of Ethan’s kiss, relishing in every slight movement of tongue and teeth until he has to retreat for air. He pulls away as slow as his burning lungs will allow until his head hits the ceiling and he’s staring back at Ethan whose lips are swollen and pink, glistening with a thin sheen of spit. Benny wonders if it’s his until he realizes just what happened.

“Ethan!” 

Benny shouts and pulls away from the other boy. Unfortunately, this breaks the magic that kept both boys in the air and they come crashing down. Luckily for Ethan, he lands on Benny's bed. Unluckily for Benny, he lands flat on his back on the floor next to his bed. He lays there, staring up at the ceiling, focused on the pain until Ethan’s face comes into view.

“You okay Benny?” He asks with a hand out to pull him up off the floor and onto the bed next to him.

“Ethan.” Is all that Benny can manage once sat next to him.

“Yeah, it’s overwhelming for me too.”

“Why did you kiss me?!” There's a squeak in Benny's voice reserved for only the most serious of freakouts.

“Same reason you kissed me back.” 

“But...Sarah?”

“Sarah is amazing and kind and really pretty and I have been obsessed with her...”

“ _For two years.._.” Benny insists. 

“But ever since the Lucifractor blasted us, I understand a lot. _Like a lot more_. I was fixated on her because she was the ideal. A pretty girl to marry and have kids and grow old with but I already had you Benny. The one person in this entire universe full of monsters and magic who cares for me, accepts me at my nerdiest, and whom I’d take on a million evil Sterns for. Even if you snore like a tractor trailer.”

“Hey! I’m not the one that talks in his sleep!” Benny cries out in defense. “But...but we’re not gay?”

“I’m definitely bisexual. You, I have a couple guesses, but I'm certain on this.” He reaches out to Benny, placing his hand onto the other boy’s chest. He spreads his fingers as far apart as they will go and pushes in just enough to feel the beating of Benny’s heart against his palm. “Your heart,” with his free hand, he takes Benny’s hand and places it against his chest, right above his own heart. “Beats in time with mine.” 

Benny stares at the smaller hand on top his own and feels the beating of Ethan’s heart. _Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum-dum-dum._  It is in fact, the same rhythm as his own. He looks back up at Ethan who is smiling at him. 

"This has to be a dream." Benny says quietly.

"Is it because the one thing you've secretly been hoping for despite the impossibility of it happening, is finally happening? I feel the same way." Ethan removes his hand from Benny's chest and takes Benny's hand into his. He traces the lines of Benny's palm with his fingertip. " I've known since that stupid love spell. Maybe I felt it longer than that but that's when I realized it because I..." He looks back into Benny's eyes who is hanging onto every word. " had Sarah hanging off my arm and all I could think about was how incredibly jealous I was of Erica."

Benny is grinning from ear to ear before he rushes forward and captures Ethan's lips. This one is shorter than the first. "I've known since we were eight and you asked me to marry you so I couldn't move away."

"Oh my god, I forgot all about that."

"I didn't." Benny jumps off the bed and rushes over to his desk. He opens a drawer and haphazardly wades through crumbled papers, empty candy wrappers, and even an half eaten slice of pizza until he produces a small box. He walks over to Ethan with it and holds it out. "Open it."

Ethan takes it and does just that. Inside is a tiny ring made of a thin strip of copper wiring. It's as shiny as the day Ethan twisted it into a size that would fit eight-year-old Benny's finger. In the center is a small piece of sea glass, a translucent green that Ethan remembers picking out from his mother's craft basket because it reminded him of Benny's eyes. "You kept it?"

"I did say yes."

"You did." Ethan takes a hold of Benny's hand and places the ring on Benny's pinky finger. "It suits you."

* * *

Readjusting to everyday life after overthrowing a great evil and confessing his feelings of love for his best friend who loved him back really messed with Benny’s head. His grandmother scolding him for running late every morning was even more bizarre because she knew he knew a teleportation spell that would get him there instantly. Of course he never uses it. So instead, he dresses quickly, runs down the stairs, and walks the couple blocks with Ethan, their hands brushing against each others the entire way. So maybe Benny was a part of the problem too. Maybe it was easier to pretend everything was normal when this was Whitechapel, the nexus of weird stuff.

 

“Benny?”

“Huh?” Benny looks away from his locker. Ethan stands next to him holding his bookbag in one hand, a text book in the other.

“I asked if you needed help with the chemistry homework?”

“Nah, I got it.” Benny pulls out the sheet of paper from his messenger bag and waves his hand over it. All the blanks fill themselves with right answers.

“Benny!” Ethan whined, checking the paperwork for any errors. “You can’t just magic it.”

“Can’t I?” Benny smirks, leaning into Ethan’s personal space so that their noses were only centimeters apart.

“You have to try and learn some of this...it might be useful.” There’s no real fight in Ethan’s voice, too busy staring into Benny’s eyes.

“I know something else that’s pretty useful.” Benny whispers before leaning in to steal a kiss from Ethan. It’s quick but the fact that they were in the middle of a busy school hallway made it ten times more thrilling. He pulls away to find Ethan’s face is bright pink, his cheeks, his ears, and even down into his neck. It’s a look Benny plans on recreating as many times as possible.

“DID YOU GUYS FINALLY ADMIT YOUR FEELINGS FOR ONE ANOTHER?!” Rory’s voice snatches all the happy, tingly feelings and replaces them with the dread of having been caught doing something that maybe Benny should have saved for behind closed doors.

“Did...did you just...” Benny stutters.

“Yes Rory, we did.” Ethan bumps his shoulder into Benny’s chest and stays there. He looks reassuringly at the taller teen. The confidence radiating off of Ethan is enough to encourage him.

“Yeah, we totally did.” Benny wraps his arm around Ethan’s shoulder and pulls him in closer.

Rory’s questioning face morphs into the biggest grin they’d ever seen on the blonde. “Well it’s about time amigos! I was starting to worry my ship would never sail.” Rory crowds them, squeezing them both into a group hug with his head in-between theirs. “It’s finally canon.” he sighs.

“Oh look, three for the price of geek.” 

Erica and Sarah appear seemingly from nowhere but really they were heading to their biology class which was pass Ethan and Benny’s lockers. Rory removes himself from the hug to address the girls.

“Ladies, Benny and Ethan would like to make an announcement.” Rory bows and steps away. 

“You’re pregnant and Benny’s the father. I told you boys to use protection.” Erica wags her finger.

“Normally I’d find the absurdity of that hilarious my fanged friend but because magic, that’s totally a possibility.”

“Benny!” Ethan nudges his elbow into Benny’s stomach. Not enough to hurt him but enough to trip him up.

“Sorry.” Benny rubs his stomach and looks back at Erica and Sarah. “Ethan and I are officially a couple. As in dating each other.”

“Boyfriends.” Ethan looks up at the taller teen who is already staring at him with a big, goofy grin on his face

“Oh my god you’re serious.” Erica gawps.

“OMG!” Sarah squeals and it’s her turn to group hug the two boys, this one with added bouncing up and down. “I’m SO happy for you guys! Like it’s finally happening!”

“That’s what I said!” Rory adds as he joins the bouncing hug fest.

“Hold on, weren’t you just googoo for...you know what no, this makes way more sense. You two have always been really touchy-feely. Congratulations. If anyone tries it with the homophobic shit, I’ll make them my next meal.” Erica bares her fangs. “C’mon Sarah, before we’re late.”

“Coming!” Sarah calls out. She plants a kiss on all three boys’ cheeks and skips away after Erica who already started walking away.

“That went smoother than I would have ever imagined.” Ethan turns to Benny.

“Yeah, wonder how you’re parents are going to take it?”

“Oh? _Oh!_ ”

“What? _What!_ ”

“My dad still thinks you and I are a thing. From that time he walked in on us practicing asking Sarah out? He even promised not to tell mom until _I was ready_. I was so embarrassed all I could say was thanks. ”

“So this entire time...” 

“Yeah but I guess that makes this easier, right?”

The bell rings.

“C’mon guys! Mrs. Dougle said we’re dissecting rats today and I can’t wait for snacks...erm...surgery!” 

"Rory, you know they're embalmed _aaannnd_ he's gone. C'mon B." Ethan shifts his backpack so he can hold out his hand for Benny to take. 

"Hang on." Benny goes back to his locker to close it. Instead, he catches his reflection in the small mirror on the door. Only it's not his reflection, it's of Ethan. Ethan with bloodshot eyes, frazzled hair, his cheeks stained with tears and red from all the screaming he's doing. But Benny can't hear him, there's no sound, only Ethan's pained expression as his mouth forms the words.

"Benny! We're gonna be late!" Ethan pulls on his messenger strap, the shorter boy giving him a pleading look. Benny's chest starts to hurt and he turns back to his locker to compare mirror Ethan with the one right in front of him but there's nothing there. It's just the small mirror that's been there since freshmen year. He slams locker shut.  

"Okay, let's go stop Rory from snacking on our classwork!"


	3. Abandon

Evelyn walks slowly down the stairs, every step heavier than the last. She could blame it on her age but honestly it was her heart. She gets about halfway down the stairs when four pair of eyes look up at her. Four pair of eyes full of worry and waiting for answers of which she had very few. “Would anyone like tea?” 

"Sure." Sarah is the only one to answer. She follows Evelyn into the kitchen with Rory, Ethan, and Erica trailing behind.

"So, uh, Granny Weir, is...is Benny gonna be okay?" Rory fidgets, his hands digging into his pockets. His skin was paler than usual, even for a vampire. His normally shiny, tussled hair, dull and limp. He and Erica were under the protection charm but still reeling from the blast. Evelyn made sure they slept in the coffins at least three hours a day to counter the effects.

"I don't know." Evelyn's voice is hollow, her eyes downcast. A hand lands on her back and it's Sarah who ushers her into the closest chair. She's already put the kettle on to boil.

"He was okay when I left him. I said goodnight to him and everything felt fine." Ethan is mumbles. He was the one to discover Benny's current state. Asleep, unmoving, and imperious to contact as an invisible barrier prevented moving within a foot of his bed before being flung violently across the room in any given direction. Ethan had tried several times before sprinting down the stairs with a wild look in his eye and a sprained wrist.

"Does anyone know how Benny's mother died?" A ceramic mug falls, the shattering sounds adding unnecessary drama to Evelyn's question and now everyone is staring at Sarah’s empty hands.

"Sorry, I'll clean this right up." She crouches down and begins picking up the pieces. Erica rushes over to help her, her hand falling onto Sarah’s in a calming gesture.

"My mom told me she was in a really bad car accident and went into a coma and then she never woke up..." Rory's voice falters. “Benny got into a car accident?”

Evelyn shakes her head. “No dear, he didn’t but that is the story I decided to tell people about Charlotte. She died of a broken heart because Benny's father is a two-timing man whore."

"Granny!" Rory's cheeks are flushed. So are Ethan's and Sarah's who had never heard such a lewd word leave the elder woman's mouth. Erica is smirking.

“Sorry dear.” She apologizes to Rory. “Charlotte was very much in love with him from the moment they met. She would have given him the world if he asked it of her and I think, at one point, he loved her just the same. _He just couldn't keep it in his pants_.” Evelyn grinds her teeth at that last sentence.

“Benny was five when Charlotte found out about all the affairs. It devastated her and she lost control of her magic.” Evelyn catches the look of fear that crosses Ethan’s face.  “You see, the thing about magic that people fail to realize, is that it flows through you like a river. It embeds into every single molecule of your being and ties into every one of your thoughts and emotions. Charlotte never got into a car, she simply went to bed crying one night and..."  Evelyn pauses, painful memories flooding her senses. "Never woke up.”

Sarah places a mug of hot water in front of her as Erica drops a tea bag inside of it. Both girls move to either side of her and place a hand onto her shoulders. Evelyn closes her eyes for a moment to hold back the tears. For as many hormones, bad decisions, and poor eating habits as these teenagers had, they were also incredibly compassionate.

She opens her eyes.  “Her magic, in order to protect her, put her into a dreamlike state to allow for her emotions to sort themselves out. Unfortunately, her magic was too strong and wouldn’t let her go. She died because her human body could no longer sustain her, there was no longer a balance of magic and life, only magic.”

“Is that...is that what Benny’s doing? Dreaming until he dies?” Rory’s voice is the softest anyone has ever heard it. If he could bite Benny and turn him, he would in a heartbeat. That would give them all the time in the world because vampires were immortal and could sleep forever.

“I think...the sudden increase of magic was too much for his body to handle. So like his mother, his magic is protecting him by putting him into a slumber that should allow his body to readjust to the increased magical flow. “

“So he should wake up when it’s all sorted out?” Erica speaks for the first time. 

“I don’t...I don’t know. With Charlotte, it had always felt like at any moment she would wake up. Her magic stabilizing everyday until she began to fade...then she just...wasn’t breathing.” Evelyn’s voice is now barely above a whisper. She had never told the true story of how her daughter died to anyone, not even that bastard of Benny’s father who she branded a murderer long ago. It was as cathartic as it was painful to relive the moment; her eyes stinging with fresh tears.

“We’ll break him out!” Ethan stands up abruptly, slamming his hands against the table, causing everyone to jump. “I’m sure there’s a spell we can find or I could go into his mind, into his dreamworld and pull him out! Just like that time you put us in separate universes!”

“I...maybe?” Evelyn stares at the boy’s sudden enthusiasm and is reminded of her grandson. “Give me some time to find the right spell, Seers are notorious for becoming trapped inside other people’s minds and we can’t have both of you in the same state.”

“What can we do to help?” Sarah asks as she bites down on her lip.

"Can any of you read an ancient or dead language?"

"I speak fluent Quebecois!" Rory quips happily, his hand raised as if in class. No one has the heart to correct him but Erica does slaps his hand down.

"Ethan?" Sarah looks over at him hopeful but he shakes his head.

"Benny was supposed to teach me Latin but we never got around to it.”

"Well, I do have loads of texts in old English and modern, I’ll just look through...”

“Latin, Aramaic, and some Gaelic.” Erica says, shrugging at the questioning looks from the others. “The vampire council offered courses.” 

“Then it’s settled.” Evelyn stands from her seat and turns in the direction of the stairs. “We will find the right spell, we will find a way to transfigure the Lucifractor, and we wake that sleepy headed grandson of mine.”

* * *

Three weeks. It has been three weeks since Sarah became human again and all three weeks have been abject misery. School was harder now that she couldn't just stay awake to study and finish all the assignments she missed because she was out fighting werecats and their lost werekittens. Fighting said werecats was harder with no vampire abilities, a distracted Ethan, and a Rory and Erica who were sailing at half-mast thanks to the still lingering effects of the Lucifractor. Benny in a magically induced coma was possibly the worst part of it all. 

“Benny, wake up! You hear me you stupid son of bitch! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!!!” Ethan is screaming, again, at the unconscious Benny. It would be a matter of minutes before Ethan would work himself up into a right rage and attempt to fight the barrier only to be sent flying into the wall. 

"Ethan, please just stop for minute and breathe."

"I can feel him Sarah! I can feel him right here!" Ethan pounds his fist against his chest, his eyes never leaving Benny. "But I've no idea how to communicate with him. It's like...it's like he's not even in there." Ethan's voice begins to break. Sarah approaches the boy slowly and puts her hand out to touch his shoulder only to have him push it away. "Don't. I...I don't have a lot of control of my powers right now."

"Ethan, maybe you should go for a walk and clear your head."

" _Clear my head?_ Clear my head Sarah? Do you know how hard that is for someone like me?" Ethan's voice goes lower and lower until he is grinding his teeth at every syllable. "A seer? A useless fucking Seer who can't use any of his useless powers to find out what the fuck is wrong with his best friend but can make everyone in this house feel like they have to vomit!?"

Ethan was the nervous, fidgety one. The one that figured it out, that put two and two together and defeated the supernatural baddie of the week. He wasn’t this raging fire of hurt. “We’ll figure this out.” Sarah says for maybe the tenth time this week. Even she didn’t believe it but it had been her mantra since this mess started. " We always do?"

"Yeah, well, right now it just feels like we're watching Benny die." Ethan storms out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

* * *

"Wake up Benny, we're gonna be late."

"Five more minutes." Benny turns away from the familiar voice of his boyfriend.

"I told you to go to sleep right after I left!" Ethan pulls the sheets from under Benny. The taller boy rolls with it but flips back at the last second so that he is still on the bed and hides his head under his pillow.

"Well, I didn't."

"Benny, c'mon, this presentation is worth a third of our grade!" Ethan pleads, this time taking a hold of Benny's wrist and tugging.

"Our respective 4.0 and 4.3 gpas will be just fine. Besides," Benny takes a hold Ethan's wrist with both of his hands and tugs. The unexpectedness of it is what trips Ethan up and he ends on lying on top of a shirtless Benny. “ We stay in bed a little while longer and make out.” Benny captures Ethan’s lips before he can answer.

The kiss is short lived however as Ethan pushes himself back from Benny and sits up, making sure to straddle the taller teen and push down on his chest with both hands. "Dude, that would be twenty times more tempting if you didn't have morning breath."

"That's an easy fix. _Mintus Bennith Dentata_." Benny smiles wide as his mouth foams with bright blue swirls dance around his teeth and mouth. Seconds later, they dissipate and he is left with a minty, bright white smile.

"There's actually a spell for toothbrushing?"

"There's a spell for everything." Benny slips his hands around Ethan's hip and squeezes. "Now, let's get to the heavy petting section of this morning’s delight."

"Benny!!!" Ethan squeaks, his face bright pink. He wiggles out of Benny’s hold and off the bed, swiping at his bookbag on the floor. "You have ten minutes to get ready and teleport us to school or you’ll be put on a strict no touching punishment!”

"You wouldn't dare!" This gets Benny to sit straight up.

"Try me." Ethan warns as he walks out of the room. He was notorious for holding a grudge so Benny gets up and heads to his dresser to grab something clean. He pauses to check himself out in the mirror because he was nothing if not vain but he catches Ethan in the corner of his reflection.

“I’m getting read...” he stops when he sees that no one is actually in the room with him. He turns back to the mirror and sees Ethan standing there, staring at something pass Benny’s shoulder. Although Ethan looks to be standing in his room, it's all wrong. The bookcase is off to the side of the room and organized by color while the floor is spotless; not one empty box of pizza or discarded spellbook in sight. But most of all, Ethan was all wrong. He looked tired, like he hasn't slept in months, his eyes puffy and red. His hair was shaggier than usual, wild curls gone everywhere. 

“E, you okay?” Benny reaches out to touch the glass and a soft thrumming sensation registers through his fingertips. “ _Zacaroth Maznacaroth_!”

Nothing happens.

He watches as Ethan opens a drawer and removes a shirt from the dresser. It’s one of Benny’s favorites, a light gray and orange striped polo, that he puts on top of his own short sleeved shirt. Then walks away.  

Benny can’t stop staring even after the mirror has gone back to reflecting him in his unkept room. He’s so fixated on the feelings of dread that he doesn’t notice the dark purple cloud looming behind him. 

“FIVE MINUTES BENNY!” 

“I’m coming, coming!” Benny snaps out of whatever spaced out thought he’d been having and rushes getting dressed. He picks out his favorite gray and orange striped shirt with the first pair of jeans he finds. He didn’t know what he’d do if Ethan really enforced the no touching rule and wasn’t about to find out.

* * *

"Hey." 

Sarah doesn't mean to flinch when Ethan walks up to her but she had been so engrossed in her reading on magic circles that she forgot where she even was. Which was sat on the swing on Benny’s front porch.

“Hey.” She gives him a small smile.

"I wanted to...I wanted to apologize. For blowing up. I didn't..."

"It's okay. I get it. Benny is your best friend. I can’t imagine I’d be doing any better if it was Erica in his place.”

"But it doesn’t give me the right to yell at you and act like I'm the only one hurting." 

Ethan's brown eyes are bloodshot and puffy but his face looked freshly washed and he’s wearing a different shirt. Sarah’s stomach twists into a knot because this isn’t the first time he’s worn Benny’s clothes.

"It's okay Ethan, just stop trying to push me away. We're a team remember?" Sarah reaches out to take Ethan’s hands in hers. 

Before any of this happened, when Ethan was still working up the courage to ask her out, he would've melted into a puddle. Sarah was lit only by the moon but was as radiate as the sun. Her soft brown curls falling onto her delicate shoulders framed her beautiful human face perfectly. But right now, all he could think about was the boy upstairs. 

"A team, yeah. "

"Why don’t you sit with me?" Sarah lets go of Ethan, and scoots over on the swing, putting the book onto her lap. Ethan sits down next to her, putting his hands in his lap. They look at each other for only a moment before awkwardly turning away to look out at the empty street in front of them. 

"So I was cleaning Benny’s room and...” Sarah starts.

“I noticed, I should probably have helped...”

“No, it’s fine. It gives me something to do.” Sarah smiles. “I found _waaay_ too much leftover pizza. Some of it had developed into colonies of mold. I think I even heard some of them worshiping a false idol.” 

"Benny's going to kill you, that was probably his stash of emergency pizza."

"Euw, that is disgusting!!!”

"Benny tends to be." Ethan chuckles, the first time in weeks. It's a sound that thrills Sarah.

"And I found this and I couldn't help but be super curious." She pulls out a tiny box from her sweater pocket. She opens it and turns it to face Ethan.

"Oh my god, he still has it!?" Ethan takes the box from her and stares at the tiny ring inside. 

" _Soooo,_ what’s the story? Is that like an attempt at a lantern ring?"

"It’s actually a little more embarrassing than that." Ethan’s eyes are drawn to the sea glass gem set in the center. It was as shiny as the day he made it. 

“This is the part where you continue.”

 "Ha, yeah. Well, you know how me and Benny have been friends since, well, _forever_? There was this other kid too. He used to live there,” Ethan points to the house on the other side of his. “Steven, that was his name. In grade three Steven moved away to Ontario or the states or where ever. But it was when he moved that I thought, I never, ever want Benny to move away from me.” 

Ethan is smiling but his eyes are glassy. Sarah shifts in her spot and puts an arm around Ethan’s shoulder. He looks up at her, surprised by the gesture.

“And so...” she nudges him.

“And so,” he smiles a bit brighter. “I asked him to marry me because hey, if he marries me, he can’t possibly move away!” 

"Oh my god that’s so sweet!" Sarah bounces in place, shaking Ethan as she did. "Please tell me he said yes and that’s why he still kept the ring after all these years?!”

Ethan’s smile is bright and happy and he nods his head. He reaches inside the box to get a better look at the ring and that’s when it happens.

_**Benny. He’s laughing and throwing marshmallows at Ethan. So much laughter. They’re running. They’re in his room. Ethan’s thrown onto his desk, Benny’s kissing him. Benny’s hands are inside his shirt. Benny is wearing the ring. Someone’s at the door watching them. They’re holding the Lucifractor. Benny is asleep. No, he’s lying on the floor, withering in pain. Someone’s standing over him, purple lightning coming from their hands. They turn and face Ethan.** _

"ETHAN?!" Sarah is now standing in front of him, holding onto his face and shoulder.

"Stern!" Ethan gets up, pushing aside Sarah but doesn’t apologize as he runs back into the house.

“What?!” Sarah runs in right after him.

* * *

 “Granny! It’s me! I got those komodo dragon eyes you needed!”

Evelyn startles from where she had fallen asleep at the kitchen table, books and cold tea cups scattered across it. She catches Erica attempting to smother a laugh and gives her a short glare. She stands from her seat and heads over to open the back door. Standing on the other side and covered in mud, is Rory. The whites of his eyes and teeth the only thing spotless. He holds a large sack in his hands.

“It wasn’t too difficult was it?”

He shakes his head, specks of mud spraying every which way. “Nuh-uh. I had fun, it’s not everyday ya get ta wrestle a dragan.” Rory says in his approximation of an Australian accent. “Where ya need me ta put these Sheila?” He holds the sack higher, a dollop of mud hitting the floor.

“ _Limpus Impius_.” Evelyn waves her hand and Rory is wiped clean of all dirt, mud, and dried blood. “Give them to me dear, there’s a fresh packet of O positive in the refrigerator for you.”

“Thank you!” Rory drops the sack and runs off to the fridge. Evelyn bends down to pick up the sack and is about half way up when she hears Ethan’s panicked voice.

“We need to wake him up now! I don’t care what spell we use, we do it now!” He is equal parts demanding and scared shitless.

“What’s happened?”

“I had a vision and Benny isn’t alone in his dreamworld, Stern is there too!”

“How?!”

“I don't know but I think it has to do with the Lucifractor, he had it in his hands and he was draining Benny of his power, life force, I don't know but it was killing him. I have to save him right now!”

“But we haven’t...”

“There has to be something?!” Ethan screams. Somewhere in the very back of his mind he feels horrible for yelling at Benny’s grandmother but right now he needed actions. “What about that spell for astral projection?”

“Aided with this potion?” Erica holds up a small book. “It’s meant to give whoever drinks it access to someone else’s nightmare or it’s for stomach gas...” She makes a face, squinting at the words on the page. "Nightmare and stomach gas are very similar."

“And we cast it in a circle!” Sarah holds up her book. “Casting in a circle allows for stronger control of the magic exerted.”

“Yes, I think this could work." Evelyn's voice hardens as she begins to give out commands. "Erica, collect the ingredients, Sarah start cleansing the space, Rory help me mix everything and Ethan, bring Jane over. We can use the boost of another natural witch.”

* * *

Two hours. It takes two of the longest hours of Ethan’s entire life to get everything ready. He stands in a circle of salt crystals and his friends and Jane holding hands in the middle of Benny’s living room.  

 

“Ethan. Listen to me carefully. You will enter Benny’s unconsciousness and your one job will be to wake him up.”

“Ok, how do I do that?”

“You have to convince him he is dreaming, any way that you can. He has to realize the world around him is not the real one and his mind should wake him shortly after.”

“Okay.”

“Benny’s magic might also affect you. You might think what you see is real or it may try to harm you as you are technically an invader.”

“Wake him up, magic might kill me, got it.” He gives her a nervous smile. 

“Have you got a personal effect?”

Ethan nods again, holding up his right hand. On his index finger, just before the middle joint, sat Benny’s ring.

“Okay and if you encounter Stern, use this banishment spell to remove him.” She hands him a small parchment which he reads and attempts to commit to memory.

“Hey, this looks like the spell Benny had me use on him when Stern brainwashed him.”

“What?”

“Here.” Ethan pulls out his cellphone from his back pocket and plays the file.

“Oh that idiot boy. He mispronounced the last word.”

“Is that bad?”

“We’ll deal with that later.  Drink this, it tastes like tar and you have to consume every drop.” She passes a large, bubbling cup of black goo into Ethan’s waiting hands. He shuts his eyes and just chugs it down. Rory looks on in awe. He had collected half of the ingredients himself and knew that couldn’t possibly end well for his human buddy.

Once Ethan is done, he hands the cup back to Evelyn who chucks it over her shoulder. She puts her hands in Sarah’s and Erica’s who stand at either side. 

“Everyone, I want you to focus all your energies into these words;  _Amina Mea Intinerantur Somnium Exterreri!"_

" _Amina Mea Intinerantur Somnium Exterreri!_ " The room fills with the four younger voices, all in varying degrees of confidence.

"Again!"

" _Amina Mea Intinerantur Somnium Exterreri!_ " This time, everyone chants louder, the words coming out clearer. The lights begin to flicker and a chill that sweeps the room.

"Once more!"

" _Amina Mea Intinerantur Somnium Exterreri!_ "

Everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zacaroth Maznacaroth: This is the spell Benny used in E5S2 rorriM/Mirror to pull Ethan out of the mirror  
> Limpus Impius: Clean the imp. Totally made up but sounds about right no?  
> Amina Mea Intinerantur Somnium Exterreri: My soul travels into a nightmare


	4. Extradition

"Note to self, go for the double slurp instead of triple." 

Benny stands at the bathroom sink of Whitechapel's only movie theater, washing his hands and attempting to calm his nerves. The copious amounts of sugar in his 32oz cup of soda obviously did not help but he had been nervous before drinking any of it. He was on a date with Ethan, which should have been just fine but there was something entirely new and exciting about watching a zombie movie they had anticipated for a year as friends and now watching it as a couple. It made Benny's head spin a little and he was too embarrassed to tell Ethan about it so he left the other boy sitting in auditorium four while the trailers played to empty his bladder and possibly get rid of the butterflies in his stomach. Only one had worked out so far.

"Ah, come on!" The sound of water sloshing accompanied the upset voice in one of the stalls. Benny watches from the mirror as the stall doors open, the soggy sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor. 

"Benny!"

"Huh?”

Before Benny can process what's happening, he is caught inside a tight embrace with a familiar head of brown curls tucked under his chin. In an almost reflexive motion, he encircles his arms around Ethan.

"It worked, the spell worked." Ethan's voice comes out in a breathless whisper.

"Spell? What spell? E, what's going on?" Benny pushes away from the shorter boy but only enough to look him in the eye. He has to do a double take because Ethan looks nothing like he did five minutes ago.

For starters, he was wearing a completely different set of clothes, his clothes in fact. He looks worn, his body thinner, his skin paler, dark circles under his eyes and even his cheeks were hollow. All framed by wild brown curls despite having gotten a haircut just yesterday.

"Benny, you're dreaming right now but you need to wake up. Stern is here and he is trying to drain..."

"Dreaming? Stern? Stern's been dust for months now. Wait a second, are you one of those camera clones?" Benny backs up. "I know just the spell..."

"Wait! No, please just listen to me! I’m the real Ethan Morgan. The one you think is me and everyone else here is all a part of a dream your magic conjured to protect you. After the blast, remember how we got upgrades to our ablities? Well, yours were too much for your body to handle so you went into a coma and now Stern is somehow in here with you and he’s planning on...”

"I'd love to believe you but how I can be sure you're not some copy cat demon or chupacabra huh?”

“The chupacabra is a fictional creature Benny. And you can’t, you’re just going to have to trust me.” Ethan reaches out his hand but Benny only moves further back until his hip bumps into a waste bin. He looks at the offending recycling container and turns back to Ethan.

“Tell me something only Ethan would know.” Benny snaps his fingers and a small ball of green fire appears. He holds it just high enough to hurl.

"Benny, that’s not going to work. This is _your_ dream. Anything you know to be true about me, so does this dreamworld. The only way to prove it would be if I told you something I have never told you before but then you’d still have to trust me.”

“Damn.” Benny snuffs out the fireball. “That’s definitely some solid Ethan logic.” He looks carefully at the Ethan before him. “How long have I been in a coma?”

“Almost a month now.” Ethan watches Benny’s eyes grow big. “How...how long has it been here? Since the blast?”

“Five months.” Benny swallows the lump in his throat. “When did I fall asleep?”

"The same night we brought back the Lucifractor. I tucked you in, you grew daisies from your feet and I said goodnight."

"So everything after that....is just made up?" Benny's voice is soft. "Even..."

"Benny! The movie literally starts in two minutes, what is taking so long?!" The bathroom door swings wide open with a slightly pissed off looking Ethan holding onto a bucket of popcorn with tiny marshmallows falling out from it. He seems to only be aware of Benny, not even sparing real Ethan a glance.

"He's not real Benny. I am." Ethan says, his voice drowning out whatever else dream-Ethan says. “Look.” He comes closer to Benny, holding up his right hand. “There’s only one of these in the real world but we’re somehow both wearing it?”

Benny instinctively twirls the ring on his pinkie with his thumb. Ethan’s is translucent, similar to the time they were stuck in separate dimensions and they needed to hold onto an emotionally-charged pair of gym shorts to pull themselves together.

“Fuck.” The word tumbles out of Benny’s mouth as the world around him literally shatters. First the lights flicker and dim, shrouding them in darkness. Then the bathroom stalls implode silently as the tiles and sinks crumble away. 

Dream-Ethan is the last to go. Emerald green eyes look into confused brown ones as the boy fades away, leaving behind an empty space where Benny's heart used to be.

“I’m so sorr..." Ethan's words catch in his throat when Benny turns to look at him. His eyes are glassy, ready to burst with tears but there's an awfully fake smile plastered on his face.

“It’s cool E, it’s not like I had everything I’ve ever wanted...mad wizard skills, a much anticipated but never gonna happen sequel to Zombie Negator 4, the love of my life....Of course it was all just a dream.” He shrugs.

“Benny.”

“How do I wake up?” Benny sniffles, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Cause this doesn’t seem like I did? I’d love to wake up and head back to the real world where I’ve just been sleeping it away apparently. Have I missed anything interesting? Did you and Sarah pick a wedding date yet?”

“Benny stop and...”

“No Ethan, it’s cool cause as long as I haven't missed it, I can still be your best man right? Unless, did you pick Rory?” His laugh is hollow and sounds more like a strangled sob.

“I wouldn’t make plans yet.” A new voice booms. A streak of purple lightning flashes through the void and Ethan has a fraction of a second to push Benny out of the way.

“Why is Vice Principal Stern here?!” Benny cries out, catching himself before he and Ethan toppled over.

“I don’t know! But here!” Ethan retrieves the spell Grandma Weir gave him from his back pocket.

“What?” Benny lets go of Ethan to take the paper when another bolt of lightning strikes, this one flashing right in between them. “Fuck!” Both Benny and Ethan jump apart and look to where the bolt originated. In the distance, there’s a shifting. A darker than the void itself shape slowly forming.

“He’s not strong enough, he can’t materialize.”

“Cool, we’ll just dodge lightning until he does then?” Benny offers sarcastically.

“ _Use the spell Benny_.”

“Oh! Yeah! _Veritas Mazanor Benniexo_!” A blast of green light erupts from Benny’s palm and strikes the shadow form at the very center. It screams, the sounds echoing loudly through the void as it writhes back and forth. For a second, they see Stern’s face only for it to disappear completely. “He’s gone now, right?”

Ethan shrugs. “Maybe? But you should probably wake up now.” He walks over to Benny with the intention of taking his hand but Benny steps away from him at the last second.

“What if I don't want to?” Benny glares at Ethan.

" _Why not?_ " Ethan feels a bubbling of anger rising in his chest.

"I can't go back there. I can't go back to..." Benny's resolve is already breaking, his eyes watering again.

“Benny, I...I know what you were dreaming about.”

“Guess that means I can’t be your best man.” Benny turns away from him.

"Benny please..." Ethan stops when the world begins to shifts. Four blue walls rise up, a bookcase full of collectibles, a messy computer desk in the corner, a twin bed to the side, telescope, nightstand. It’s his bedroom and forms in a matter of seconds.

"Don't make me." Benny walks over to the desk and throws himself into the desk chair. He grabs something and spins around. It's a picture frame and he clutches it close to his chest. He looks up at Ethan, tears falling in earnest. "Please don't make me go back."

"Benny." Ethan approaches the boy who only shakes his head, his face twisting into an ugly mask of hurt.

"I can't go back to pretending, I can't go back to watching you go all googoo eyes over Sarah. I don't even care if this world is fake."

He's still staring at the picture frame in his hand when Ethan finally stands over him. It's a picture of him and Ethan that Rory had taken when they'd gone to a Star Trek convention. Benny was dressed in the gold-yellow captain's uniform and Ethan in the blue science officer one with prosthetic Vulcan ears peeking out of his hair. At the time, they didn’t know Rory was there and had taken the opportunity to kiss. Benny's hands gently hold onto Ethan's face while Ethan's hands hung from his wrists as he tiptoed to meet Benny's lips. It had been Benny's favorite picture but it wasn't real, was it?

"Benny, I love... 

"Not cool." Benny stands up, brushing aside Ethan and putting the picture face down on the desk. "You don't need to lie because you feel bad for me." 

He wipes at his face, attempting to stop the flow of tears but Ethan catches his wrist. He doesn't fight as Ethan pulls him in, closing the distance between them until their lips meet. It's an awkward kiss, slick and salty from Benny's tears, their lips not so much locking as tenderly slipping pass one another until they shut their eyes and feel the hammering against their rib cages.

_**Please wake up.** _

A white light fills the void, blinding them, then nothing.

* * *

"Do you think...what happened to Benny is also happening..."

"No way Sarah, you heard Grandma. He doesn't even have a barrier around him. See."

"I guess, I'm just..."

"Worried? We finally fix dork one and now dork two is out for the count."

" _Erica._ "

"What? I'm just...hey look, he's moving!"

The familiar voices of Sarah and Erica are the first thing Ethan becomes aware of. Then it's the fact that all of his limbs feel wrong, as if they were detached from his body altogether. With that thought he panics, opens up his eyes and sits up so fast his head spins. Luckily Sarah is already sitting beside him, propping him up with her arm around his back.

"Woah there, Grandma said soul re-alignment was rough the first time around so you should probably take it easy." She rubs small circles on his back as an assurance.

"Soul what?" Ethan mumbles. "Benny, where's Benny?" He looks around the room and finds that he is lying on the couch of Evelyn's sitting room. The magic circle cleared away and replaced with the coffee table. And other than Sarah and Erica, no one else was in the room.

"He's fine, he's awake. Grandma is performing some ritual to get rid of three weeks worth of dehydration and starvation." Erica says placidly.

"Can...can I go see him?" Ethan scoots away from Sarah's supportive hold and swings his legs off the couch. His joints feel like jello but figures he can ride it out.

"Hang on there sparky." Erica appears at his other side and she and Sarah help him stand. They help him walk around the couch and through the hall until they reach the kitchen where there is a significant amount of noise.

"And I jumped on it and just dug into it's face and gauged his eyes out!" Rory's voice is the loudest, excitedly recounting his journeys in ingredient gathering. Jane sat next to him surrounded by vials of powders and herbs, stirring something in a small cauldron and occasionally reading from an open book next to it. Evelyn stands behind Benny who sits at the end of the table. She has her eyes closed as she quietly chants something indiscernible with her palms faced out, tiny trickles of yellow light floating from her to Benny. But it was Benny who Ethan kept his sole focus on. He looked sleepy, his eyes half-lidded but with a smile on his face. He looked like he may have been following Rory's excited storytelling or just lolling his head along. What was important was that he was awake. 

"Look who decided join us." Sarah sing-songs.

"Ethan!" Rory rushes over to Ethan and scoops him up into bone crushing hug.

"Missed you too buddy...but...I can't breathe."

"Oh sorry." Rory lets go of Ethan but not before setting him down on his chair next to Benny.

"Hey Ethan, I thought you'd never wake up." Benny is wearing his favorite black and green striped pajamas and his smile is as big as his mouth will allow giving him a Cheshire like appearance.

"Jerk." Ethan leans over to punch Benny in the arm but has no strength behind it so his hand sort of falls onto Benny's forearm. The taller boy flinches at the contact. Ethan’s heart drops and leans back to take away his hand but Benny reaches out and places his hand over Ethan’s and their eyes meet. 

_**Are you okay E?** _

_**Yeah. I’m sorry I was so...forward.** _

_**No, I like it.** _

_**Oh, ok. How are you feeling?** _

_**Better now that you're here.** _

“Hey! Are you guys having a secret Vulcan conversation?! No fair!” Rory whines, his head appearing in between the two boys.

"Sorry Rory, I spaced out." Ethan says as way of explanation. He leans back, his hand slipping from underneath Benny's. He doesn't want to lose the contact and neither does Benny. So he takes Ethan's hand into his and pulls it under the table. Rory the only one oblivious to the action.

"How are you feeling Benny?" Sarah asks, taking the last empty seat at the table.

"I could go for pizza."

"Done." Evelyn hums a little as she lets her arms fall to her side. "I need to lie down, I have cast more magic in one night than I have in the last thirty years." She leans in and plants a kiss onto the top of Benny's head. "Try and stay out of trouble for the next eight hours, will ya?"

"I can’t promise you that Grandma."

Evelyn’s lips curl into a small grin before she turns to Sarah. "Sarah could I bother you to help an old woman?”

"Of course." Sarah stands and takes Evelyn’s outstretched arm by the elbow. They make their way out of the kitchen and disappear up the stairs.

"Rory, it's getting late. Let's take Sabrina the teeny witch home and get dinner."

"I’m not hungry and I wanna hang with my bros, it's been forever!”

" _Pretty sure I didn’t ask._ ” Erica's eyes flash yellow as she bares her fangs.

"See you dudes later." Rory pats either boy's shoulder before zooming over to Erica.

"Jane?" Erica taps Jane's shoulder. "I can help you finish this potion tomorrow.”

The young girl stops stirring and sighs. "Okay. Can we fly home?"

"Only if you let me have that purple scarf I saw in your room."

"Deal." Jane stands up from her seat, making sure to bookmark her page and tuck it into her back pocket. She waves her hand over the cauldron and all of it's contents disappear. "I already told mom Benny’s finally awake and that you're spending the night so don't worry about coming home tonight."

"Th..thanks Jane." Ethans says, a little bewildered. The younger girl shrugs and turns towards the blonde vampires, holding out her hand. Erica takes it and in a blink of an eye, Benny and Ethan are left alone, still holding hands under the table.

"Ethan?" Benny says after a few moments of quiet 

"Yeah?"

“Is this is real?” Benny turns his wrist, turning Ethan's along with it.

“Yeah, it is." 

“And you and Sarah?”

“About the same as you and Della. Only Sarah actually wants to be my friend and I didn’t even have to bring her dog back from the dead.”

“So this isn’t a dream then?”

Ethan leans in, taking in every single detail. From the way Benny's hair zig-zags across his forehead to how his cheeks are rosey and supple because his lips are turned up at the ends in an impish grin to how the light in the room filters through his emerald irises that now stare back at him.

"A dream come true."

* * *

Ever since becoming a part of Whitechapel’s defacto hero squad, Ethan has held the steady belief that if it is easy to beat, it’s not defeated. It's the overbearing presence that wakes him. The uncanny feeling of being perversely watched. Otherwise, Ethan would have happily continued to go on sleeping. He opens bleary eyes to find Benny staring down at him with a glowing purple orb in his hands.

“Benny? What...what're you doing?”

“ _Hello Ethan Morgan._ ” Benny’s voice echoes in time with someone else’s, something darker. Ethan rolls off the bed and stands as quickly as he can to face the taller teen. His eyes glow purple and his face forms a familiar grin. “ _You really thought I was so easily defeated._ " 

“Stern?! Why won't you just leave us alone?!”

“ _Why won’t you just die!_ ” Stern-possessed-Benny holds up the Lucifractor and a beam of violet light hits Ethan square in the chest.

_**Stern is consumed by his need for power but it is not in the nature of The Lucifractor. It absorbs Stern, trapping his soul inside of itself. Trapping it amongst the many others. A bright light emerges from inside a person’s chest. Purest light that can destroy the Lucifractor once and for all, taking Stern with it.** _

Ethan is ripped out of his vision by an angry cry. He watches Benny sail across the room and hit the wall by his desk. He collapses into a heap right next to his computer, the Lucifractor sent rolling out of his hands and in the opposite direction. Sarah stands in the open doorway, a book open in her one hand, the other held out as an obvious sign of her casting the spell.

"Sarah?!"

"Ethan!" She rushes over to him and helps him stand. "Are you okay?"

"We have to..." Ethan's chest feels like it's on fire, making it hard to speak or even breathe. The Lucifractor, he needed to get that first. He turns away from Sarah, dropping back onto the floor to crawl towards Benny's bed where he’d seen it roll under. He feels the heat radiating off of it before grabbing it. He screams out in pain but pulls down the sleeve of his pajama shirt to keep the contact indirect.

"Ethan, what're you..." he turns onto his back and Sarah sees the smoking orb swaddled in his pajama shirt. 

"Is...Ethan....okay?" 

Sarah's attention snaps to the heap that is Benny. He lies folded over his desk, his shoulders arched at a weird angle as he pushes himself up. His breathing is harsh, more grunting than actual breaths taken. "I can't...hold...him....off...ack!" Benny flips over, stands straight, his eyes flashing purple. " _I give you the gift of humanity and you repay me by becoming a witch?_ " He sends a purple fireball at Sarah who ducks just in time.

"We're getting outta here now!" Sarah grabs Ethan and drags him up and out of the room. She searches hurriedly through her book and screams " _COHIBERE INTRA!!!_ " A warm, pink glow spreads out across the open door frame, entering into the room and covering it wall to wall. 

" _You're no better than Benjamin, this won't hold for long!_ " Benny blasts fireball after fireball at the pink barrier only to have them dissipate upon contact.

"Actually, you're pretty good." Ethan is leaning heavily against the staircase banister, cradling the Lucifractor in his other arm.

"Thanks, I may have picked up a spellbook...or three." Sarah places her hand onto Ethan’s back. They needed to regroup and come up with a plan before the barrier failed. They make it down two steps when Benny calls out to them.

“Ethan! The light....the light is...." His face is contorted but he stays as close to the barrier as he can, his wild green eyes searching for Ethan. "Your sou...Stern knows....ahhhh..." He falls to his knees, his eyes turning purple once again. 

" _Ethan, I will kill you first and Benjamin will have front row tickets as you die by his own hands._ ” All traces of Benny’s voice are gone, only Stern’s remains, echoing through the halls of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Veritas Mazanor Benniexo: The first two words are used by the Benny recording on Ethan's phone in E13S2 Date To End All Dates Pt.2  
> Cohibere Intra: Contain inside


	5. Urgency

“Erica, can I ask you something?” 

The two vampires sit together on an iron bench in White Lake, a large park on the other side of town that as the name suggests is home to a lake. It’s Erica’s favorite hunting ground because couples come here at all hours for alone time. This gives her double the options. Rory still only drinks blood from small animals and holds a half drained rat in his hands.

“As long as you’re not asking me out on a date because the answer is still _never in a million years_.”

“Do you think Anastasia is dead?”

“No, I didn’t stake her but hindsight is 20/20.” She shrugs.

“I hope she’s okay.”

“Rory!” Erica turns to glare at him. “She was going to make us her vampire slaves and take us away from all our friends and family!” 

“Yeah but,” Rory puts his rat down onto the ground, urging it to run off. “She was scared, like _really_ scared. You felt it didn’t you?”

“She’s older than Jesse. She would’ve been ashes if the blast touched her. Of course she was scared but I was more worried about Sarah. She could’ve ended up just as dead with only those durfnerders to help her.”

“Is that how you beat her glamour? Your love for Sa...”

“Shut it.” Erica flashes her eyes yellow.

“But she’s okay!” Rory scoots away from Erica, holding his hands up in defense. “ And you kicked Anastasia’s butt!”

“I am amazing, aren’t I?” She gloats. Of course she doesn’t mention the reason she was able to knock out Anastasia so quickly was because she caught her off guard with that giant log across the back of her head.

“But it’s okay to share your feelings... _with Sarah I mean_.” Rory rushes out the last part as he scoots all the way to the other end of the bench. “Just look at Benny and Ethan. It took Benny sorta dying for Ethan to be honest about how he felt and for Benny to see that it was okay to feel the way he did about his best bro.” 

Three weeks ago, Erica would not have heard any of these words tumbling out of Rory’s mouth because she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. But that was almost a month ago and as it turns out, Rory wasn’t completely oblivious. In fact, if Erica was honest with herself, Rory is nothing if not incredibly compassionate and understanding to those around him. He literally went around the globe for the ingredients Granny needed. He allowed Jane and Sarah to test spells on him even when they backfired. He was the one that would remind Ethan to eat or drag him to school when he became too distraught. But most of all, he had stayed by Erica’s side, making sure she had her share of blood and rest. She even caught him removing some of the Transylvanian dirt from his coffin to hers one night. 

“Rory?”

“Yeah?” 

“Don’t tell Sarah any of this.” He shakes his head back and forth in a silent agreement. “It hurt when she told me she was human again.” Erica lowers her voice, every syllable a betrayal. “I know that she’s been wanting this for so long and I should be happy for her but... she’s going to die. She going to live out her entire life as a human, doing human things, interacting with other humans, probably marry a human and eventually dying a human. Where does that leave me? Watching my best friend live a life I never wanted.” Erica turns away from Rory because she refuses to cry in front of him and wills the tears away.  

“You’ll always have me.” Rory offers quietly. He knows he can’t be compared to Sarah but he was a vampire and would live just as long as Erica. Assuming she didn’t kill him or anyone else for that matter. 

“I..." Erica pauses because yeah, at least she had Rory. She still had Sarah too, at least for another seventy years or so. "Okay. It could be worse." She looks back down to find Rory smiling.  

When Erica was a little girl, she would constantly imagine what life would be like having a little brother. How fun it would be to have a permanent tag along, someone to have adventures with, someone to play with when the other kids didn't. Maybe in some strange cosmic mix-up, Rory was the answer. "C’mon, let’s get back to Grandma's for a dirt nap.”  

One, two, three, the vampires race across town back to Benny's backyard. It's there that they find themselves tripping over their own two feet and land in the grass with barely any strength left in their bodies. 

"Not again!" Erica screeches, pushing herself up. 

"I feel sick..." Rory mumbles, his mouth full of grass. 

"Something’s wro...." Erica stops when her cellphone goes off. She snatches it out of her jacket and stares at the caller id. "Sarah, what did the dork....I’ll be there." 

* * *

 "The light..." Ethan mumbles. 

Sarah brushes a few strands of hair from his face, his skin clammy to the touch. She had manage to bring him all the way to his house with a levitation spell but unceremoniously dumped him on his bed. Thankfully his parents were such heavy sleepers because she had no clue what she would have given them as way of an explanation. 

She spares him one last glance before turning back to the bedroom window and opening it. The Lucifractor sits near on Ethan's desk, daring to look innocuous. Even though she was no longer a vampire, she still felt horrible energies coming off of it.

"What...Happened?" Erica appears hovering in the window, Rory holding onto her arm looking a little worse for wear.

"Come in." Sarah holds out her arms and helps Erica and Rory tumble into Ethan's bedroom. Rory lays himself on the floor and Erica keeps her arm around Sarah's shoulder to remain standing.

"Who took the marble out the box? And where's the magic dork?" Erica's fangs are bared but she can't seem to control it.

"Stern's possessing Benny and he tried to use the Lucifractor to kill Ethan."

"Is Ethan okay?" Rory calls up from his spot on the floor.

"I'm fine." Ethan speaks, a little clearer than before. "Stern's soul is stuck...inside the Lucifractor but he's connected to Benny somehow" He sits up, wincing at every slight movement. "We need to cut him off then we can destroy the Lucifractor with my soul."

"Your soul?" Sarah asks.

"It was in my vision. The light of my soul."

"That sounds dangerous." Sarah's voice hides none of her concern.

"If that saves Benny." Ethan offers up a frail smile.

"I have a spell." Jane appears in the doorway, holding open a book in her hand.

In her fuzzy pink pajamas she moves into the room until she sits down next to Ethan. The pages are filled with beautiful, flowery lettering in purple ink. All in modern English. “It's a binding spell. It's supposed to keep two souls together so that even when they die, they'll be together in the next life. We can bind Ethan to Benny and it would force Stern out.”

“How are you so sure about that?” Erica leans over Jane to look into the pages.

“Charlie went into a whole rant about it.” Jane turns back several pages and reads out loud. “A human may carry no more than two hearts, two souls, two minds at a time. Should there be a spell performed such as a soul binding, those involved would no longer be at risk of possession, mind control, will bending, etc because they would have their souls united and impregnable, incapable of being coerced. This is often referred to in texts as soulmates.”

“Who's Charlie?” Rory asks. He is able to sit up on his knees and scoots over. He tries to put his hand on the open page but Jane pulls away to keep it out of reach.

“The girl who wrote this signs all the entries as Charlie. She was really into how spells worked and how to make them better.”

“Hey, is that the one you’ve been buried in these last couple of days?” Sarah turns the book in the girl’s hand. It’s small and worn, made of brown leather but well taken care of. Carved into the cover were the initials C.W. Sarah’s eyes widen and she finds that Ethan and Erica share a similar expression on their faces. "Does Grandma Weir know you have this?"

Jane shrugs, bringing the book closer to herself. "She said I could have any of the books in her basement."

"What about the light of Ethan's soul? Will that kill him if we use it?" Rory lolls his head to the side in a perfect impersonation of a puppy.

"It shouldn't. The light of the soul is just the balance of good and evil inside of it.” Jane turns to another page and shows it to Rory. There's a diagram of an Egyptian scale with a feather on one pedestal and a heart in the other with more writing underneath. “Ethan’s always been a goody two shoes so maybe he has more light than most."

"Okay, so what do we need?" Ethan stands up, only wobbling slightly.

"You have to..." Jane turns more pages until she gets to the spell. She scans through it following along with her finger. "Have their wrists bound in gold...lips coated in clover...declaration....oh.”

“Oh what?” Sarah tries to read upside but Jane hands her the book, pointing to a passage. She proceeds to read it out loud. "By the hand of whoever is being bound to, let their blade pierce through the heart as only one is needed now. It should be noted that any blade would suffice but a dagger is preferred. As long as it's aimed at the heart."

“Benny has to stab me?” Ethan’s voice cracks.

“Love hurts.” Erica frowns.

“I thought we were trying not kill Ethan.” Rory looks up at the aforementioned teen who grimaces.

“ _Keep reading!_ ” Jane says impatiently.

* * *

The clock on the wall is frozen at 2:45pm. Underneath it is a freshly cleaned blackboard. In front of that is a large, oak desk. In front of that, are twenty-five smaller student desks arranged in rows of five. All but the one in the leftmost center are empty. The sun filters through the open blinds, casting the single figure in a half shadow. 

“C'mon Ethan...figure this out." He pleads out loud, his fingers thrumming against the desk in a rapid staccato.

"Mr. Weir."

"Go. Away." Benny doesn't bother to look over as the door to the classroom opens.

"Don't worry.” Stern has yet to fully manifest. His upper body is that of a man in grey suit but from the waist down he is a grey mist, the overall appearance liking him to a corporate genie. “Soon enough Ms. Fox's barrier will fall and I will have my hands wrapped around your boyfriend's neck.” He hovers over to Benny until he is directly over the boy’s desk. “Correction, your hands.”

Benny glares at Stern but says nothing. He learned early on that there was very little he could do stuck in his seat. Stern’s doing of course. It figures that a prison in his own mind would be detention.

“It's such a shame. The Weirs have had nothing but potential but you are all felled by the same thing.”

"I don't care about your stupid monologue. Get out of my head and go be cliched somewhere else."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Stern wags his finger, the tip tapping Benny’s nose.

"It’s you that’s cliched Benjamin. Why don’t you take a guess, I'm sure even you could figure it out.”

"Pizza?" Benny smirks, relishing in the slight twitch in Stern's eye.

"Love." Stern speaks the word with every ounce of contempt available in his metaphysical body. "Love Benjamin. Generation after generation felled by the delusional, fever-inducing, maddening four letter word. Just take yourself for example. After the Lucifractor endows you, you decide not a day later, that you’d rather rot in your fabricated relationship with Ethan Morgan than utilize your newfound might.”

“You probably got off on it though." Benny smirks. "I bet you're really into teenage boys. All those hormones running through underdeveloped bodies while making out until...”

“ENOUGH!” Stern slams his hands onto Benny’s desk, his voice rattling off of every available surface. “I was pulled into your pathetic dreamworld because you couldn't be bothered to annunciate a banishing spell correctly. TWICE!!! I was forced to watch until I realized I could siphon your magic for my own."

“Big surprise there. Isn't that what caused the Lucifractor to blow up in the first place, you trying to suck out the juice? You’re like a magic-stealing leech.”

“And you’re a waste of magic, just like your mother.”

Mentions of his mother were few and far between. It was a topic Benny himself knew very little about but Stern's words struck him like a back-handed brass knuckle across face. There’s a yell, something deeply primal, and Benny is jumping up out of his seat, standing on the desk to launch himself so that his hands wrap around Stern’s throat. 

Stern is sufficiently surprised by both the outburst and Benny regaining control but the struggle is short lived. He tosses Benny aside, his body crashing into several desks as it skids across the floor.

"I seem to have struck a nerve Benjamin." Stern adjusts his tie, a pleased smirk forming on his lips. 

He moves towards the prone body and realizes his legs have finally formed. He is satisfied by the clicks of his heels with every step until he is standing right over Benny's unconscious form. He nudges the boy's leg with the tip of his oxford brogue but he is too busy gloating to notice one of Benny's hands twitching oddly. Thus it becomes too late for him to react when that same hand wraps around his ankle.

" _Sominom Viscarthra Arboth Somnar_!" Stern's newly formed body drops like a sack of potatoes. Benny scrambles to his feet and calls out. "Ethan! It worked!" 

The classroom door swings open and Ethan bursts through, stopping just short of slamming into Benny. Their hands instinctually reach out for one another but Ethan shakes his head. "You need to take back control, the spell only last five minutes?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so wake up."

"Got it."

"Oh, and Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"Trust me.”

* * *

"Now!" Erica runs through the falling pink barrier with Rory, Jane, Sarah, and Ethan trailing right behind. Each one of them carrying something to prepare for the ritual.

“Rory! Set the timer for four minutes!" Ethan calls out.

"I thought you said the spell lasted five minutes?"

"Just do it!"

"Okay!" Rory turns the dial on the stopwatch hanging from his neck and pushes start on the countdown. 

"Where should I put this?" Sarah holds the Lucifractor wrapped in a tshirt in her hands.

"Anywhere." Ethan responds. She runs to the other side of the room and places it on top of Benny's desk.

"My head is killing me." Benny groans. He lies on his bedroom floor, feeling the hurried footsteps through the hardwood as they rush around him.

"It'll be worse if you don't hustle so c'mon Harry Potter, get up." Erica pulls Benny up off the floor. She ushers him to the center of the room where Sarah is just finishing up drawing a circle in chalk, a small one just big enough to fit him and Ethan. Jane stands nearby, looking over something in Charlie's grimoire.

"Put this on your lips." Ethan reaches out with a finger covered in a dark brown powder and spreads it across Benny's lips before the boy could say anything. The smell is familiar to him and with a quick swipe of his tongue, he recognizes it as clover. Using the same finger, Ethan's covers his own lips, Benny mesmerized by the motion.

"Three minutes!" Rory calls out. He and Erica take either side of the magic circle to help Sarah arrange crystals and candles. 

"I found this in Granny's jewelry box, hope it's real." Jane removes a delicate, gold chain necklace from her pajama pocket. She wraps a loop around Ethan's left wrist, then a loop around Benny's right. The length of the necklace lending very little slack so the boys intertwine their fingers and hold hands so as not to break the chain. 

"Here." Sarah pulls something out of her sweater pocket and holds it out towards Ethan. It's a dagger Benny recognizes as one of the knives his grandmother had given them when they first fought Jesse.

"What's that for? Gonna cut up some fruit to feed me?" Benny waggles his eyebrows.

"Okay, is everything in place?" Jane looks up from her book, scanning the room.

Ethan looks directly into Benny's eyes and as casual as you would suggest pepperoni as a topping says. "You have to stab me in the heart to complete the spell."

"You said this spell was simple!” Benny’s voice pitches towards the highest range he can reach. “ _You didn’t mention anything about stabbing you!_ "

"Two minutes!" Rory calls out. 

"Because I knew you'd get like this. Stern can take back control any second. Jane?" Ethan looks to his little sister who nods her head.

" _Duae Animae in Unum Intueri_." Every word Jane chants brings with it a rising wind into the room as the lights begin to flicker on and off. "Ethan, make the declaration."

" _Cor Meum et Animam Meam Pertinent Tuam_." Ethan's dictation is nowhere near as good as his little sister's but the intent is very present as his eyes refuse to leave Benny's. "My soul is your to take."

"Now your declaration Benny." Jane eyes the taller teen. It’s a look he is familiar with, the look that said do it or I’m telling mom which shouldn’t work on him as well as it does.

"I'm not going to stab..."

"One minute!" Erica calls out this time, her hand ripping the timer from Rory's neck. “There is no plan b you idiot!”

" _Sumo Animam Tuam_." Benny rushes through the words he'd learn less than twenty minutes ago. "May your soul find rest in mine."

" _Coaptandas_!" Jane sings, her voice taking out all the lights save the candles surrounding the two boys. Ethan puts the dagger into Benny's left hand, the hilt warm from his touch. Rory’s hand slips into Erica’s whose other hand slips into Sarah’s. All Benny can do is stare at the knife.

_**Trust me Benny.** _

Benny’s fingers curl around the hilt and adjust his grip to bring up the knife. His eyes zero in on the center of Ethan’s chest. He notes now, of all the time to do so, that Ethan is wearing one of his pajama shirts. It’s an older one that’s lined by blue and white stripes that Benny hasn’t worn in years but has never thrown away. A single thought crosses his mind.

_**Don’t die.** _

The knife plunges in with very little resistance, like a key slotted into the correct lock. There is no blood, only light, almost blinding. It pours from where there should be a wound. Benny can feel the gentle warmth coming from it, seeping out from Ethan and into him but he’s too afraid to let go. Instead, Ethan reaches up and places his hand over Benny’s and together they pull the dagger out of his chest. The light is freed, spilling into the whole of the room so brightly that everyone covers their eyes.

_**Benny is he...** _

There’s a sudden scream. It screeches out of Benny’s head, his ears, nose, and mouth in a nebulous mass of grey that drains out of him into a cloud only to shoot into the Lucifractor. It wobbles in place until the cloud clears, daring to roll off the desk but remains.

“Was that...” Benny leans heavily onto Ethan, his breathing uneven.

“Stern. Yeah. He’s back in...”

“ _I am done with you children ruining everything!_ ” From the now glowing Lucifractor, the cloud emerges, this time forming the smokey visage of Stern. His eyes burn violet as he collects magical energy in his hands. “I’ll kill you all!” 

He lobs large bursts of purple fire, one after another and wildly from either hand. Not so much aiming at anyone but scattering them across for the maximum amount of damage. Everyone tumbles, dives, roll, anything to avoid being struck. Ethan shoves Benny aside to stop what would have been a direct hit but hears his sister cry out in pain behind him.

“Jane!” Ethan rushes over. She's lying on the floor clutching her stomach, her head propped up by the last shelf of the bookcase she'd fallen against.

“I promise not to tell mom....” She murmurs before her eyes roll to the back of her head, her eyelids closing.

“One down. ” Stern pauses to form another wave of energy but this time Rory and Erica launch a double attack, each latching their fangs onto either side of Stern's neck. He falls back, the two vampires easily overtaking him. 

“Ethan, is Jane ok?” Benny stands over the Morgan siblings, his own hands collecting magical energies for a counter attack. 

Ethan searches for a pulse in Jane’s neck. When he finds it, it’s thready but present. “Benny...”

“Idiots!” Stern sends volts of electrical magic through the vampires and throws them across the room. Rory slams against the far wall by the door and Erica hits the corner on the other side of the bed, disappearing behind it.

"Erica!" Sarah runs over to her and tries to wake her but she's out cold. She turns back to Stern and holds her palm open shouting the first spell she could think of. " _Parvus Ignis_!” A stream of blue fire bursts through her palm towards Stern but at the last second he waves his hand at it, causing it to go out.

"You need more practice." Stern flicks his wrist and a single bolt of lightning strikes Sarah, knocking her unconscious on top of Erica. That leaves Ethan still holding onto his sister and Benny, standing protective over them. Stern approaches slowly, his eyes never leaving Benny's.

"I dont know what you think you can accomplish but even in this weaken state I'm stronger than you." He sends a tendril of dark energy to snake around Benny's body and lift him off the ground.

"Benny!" Ethan shouts, his hand catching Benny’s ankle.

_**E, I know the perfect spell! We’re getting rid of him once and for all!** _

"Having a vision are we? Was it of your death!" Stern shoots out another beam but he is stopped short when something hits the back of his head. It’s the Lucifractor, it strikes him and continues soaring across the room until Ethan catches it in one hand.

"Benny, do it now!"

" _Bono...Malum..._ "  the words are thunderous, echoing through the walls and floors of the entire house. His eyes begin to glow white, his hair and clothes flowing in an invisible breeze and his body freeing itself as the dark tendrils fall away. He raises a hand up towards Stern who is too confused to respond before Benny slams his hand onto the orb in Ethan’s hand. " _SUPERATE!!!_ " There's a surge of magic from Benny's palm that transfers directly into the Lucifractor and for a moment, everything is perfectly still and silent.

Then it cracks. 

A small, shallow fracture that grows as quickly as it forms. It spreads like spiderwebs across the orb. Stern claws at his chest, his violet eyes fading as his face becomes horror stricken. Tiny beams of purple light begin to emit from his body, taking on the form of spiderwebs as well until there are too many to remain whole. He shatters, one last ghastly scream escaping him before he crumbles to dust.

Ethan releases the Lucifractor, it rolls away from him as wisps of lights filter through the crevices and into all directions, disappearing almost as soon as. 

Benny floats back down, the white from his eyes fading until he lands on his knees. There’s the faintest of smile on his face as he collapses forward into Ethan's waiting arms.  

“You did it Benny.” He whispers, pressing his forehead against Benny’s.

“We did it.” Benny mumbles, his eyes closed. “We should probably...help everyone...get up now.”

“You sure you're up for that? You feel weak.”

Benny opens one eye to look at Ethan and chuckles. “Dude, your eyes.”

Ethan quirks an eyebrow and moves back slightly. Benny opens both of his eyes and the two start a staring contest. Ethan’s left eye is as dark brown as it’s always been but his right one is now emerald green. Benny’s left eye is as green as it’s always been but his right eye is dark brown. Their hands reach out to touch the other's face, reveling in awe. The boys smile in unison. 

“Did we win?” Rory’s concussion-filled voice breaks the stare. He's sitting up with his back against the wall, rubbing his head. “My mouth feels like that time I decided to eat a fusebox.”

* * *

_“Although the act of stabbing your intended soulmate may seem violent, you must be willing to give your life and they willing to to take it in order for this to work. Trust is the key to the ritual. If the potential soulmates have trust in one another in the absolute, then it will succeed. It will be doubly beneficial if both are magic users as they will then be able to interchange their abilities." Sarah looks up from the passage and finds Ethan smiling._

_"I have a plan."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sominom Viscarthra Arboth Somnar: Benny uses this spell in Fanged and Furious E3S2, it's the knock-out spell he uses even on himself  
> Duae Animae in Unum Intueri: Two souls in unity  
> Cor Meum et Animam Meam Pertinent Tuam: My heart and soul belong to you  
> Sumo Animam Tuam: I take yours  
> Coaptandas: Join together  
> Parvus Ignis: small fire  
> Bono Malum Superate: Overcome evil with good


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

“Benny?”

“Yeah?”

“What was I like in your dream?”

Benny doesn’t answer right away. He’s too busy attacking the invading zomborgs on the screen but just as he makes a significant amount of damage he presses pause and drops his controller to turn to Ethan.

“Why do you care? He wasn’t real.”

“He was to you.” Ethan says softly. “I feel this ache from you, every now and then. Like you miss me but I’m right here so....it must be...”

“ _Dreamthan_.”

“Dreamthan?”

“Yeah, that’s what I call him. There’s Dreamma, Dreamrah, Dreamory, Dreamica...”

“I get it.” Ethan chuckles. He sets his controller down by the computer monitor and slides his chair closer to Benny. “What was Dreamthan like?”

Benny looks away and shrugs. “He was you but not really. Thinking back, Dreamthan was way too easy.”

“Easy _how_?”

“Not like that...well...a little but...no.” The color of Benny’s cheeks are just as red as Ethan’s. “Dreamthan would never argue with me. Even over stuff I knew you’d disagree on like Galactia plot points or how to boobytrap a harddrive. It was like he would always take my side. And if anything supernatural happened, he would look to me for answers instead of coming up with them.”

“Because your ideal Ethan would always think you’re right.”

“Right! I mean, no.” Benny is wringing his hands at this point. “That was a dream. A really, _really_ nice dream but a dream nonetheless. You’re the one I actually want to be in love with.”

“Was he a better kisser?” Ethan hates himself the second the words leave his mouth.

“Ethan, are you... _insecure_?” Benny asks cautiously. The being able to sense people’s thoughts and feelings worked both ways now. Something Ethan found equal parts awesome and annoying.

“What? No.” Ethan spins in his seat to face away from Benny but is spun back by him.

“Ethan.”

“I keep thinking I’m never going to live up to your fantasy.”

“E, are you kidding me?! You’re my _literal_ soulmate!” Benny crowds Ethan’s space, one of his hands caressing his cheek, the other sneaking around the boy’s waist to nudge him even closer. When their noses almost touch Benny continues. “I miss Dreamthan because we did so much in those pretend five months than we’ve had a chance to in these last two weeks. All things we can totally do or not. It’s whatever! As long as you understand I love you and not a dream version of you.”

Benny closes the space between them and kisses Ethan. Images of Benny’s time spent in his dream flood their shared consciousness. All the laughter, the video games, the popcorn and candies, kisses and lingering touches, comic conventions and failed science experiments, werecats and fairies. Every single feeling Benny had felt pressed into the kiss so that Ethan would understand there was absolutely nothing better than this moment.

“Benny.” Ethan says breathlessly when they finally seperate. “I love you.”

“I know.” Benny smiles. “I love you more.”

“Don’t.” Ethan laughs. “Don’t do that.”

“Okay but I can definitely do this.” Benny goes in for another kiss, this one with some heat behind it. He bites lightly onto Ethan’s bottom lip which has the desired effect of making the shorter boy gasp. This allows Benny to slip his tongue into Ethan’s mouth and explore. At the same time his hands pull Ethan in closer, dragging both the boy and chair until Ethan was practically falling into him. Ethan’s hands pushing against his chest to stop from doing so.

When Benny starts to suckle on his tongue, Ethan feels his body lose strength and his hands search to find something to ground him or risk falling over. They search until they slip beneath the hem of Benny’s shirt. There he claws at Benny’s hips until he has a solid grip, eliciting a low growl from somewhere deep inside Benny’s chest. Ethan is incapable of processing what that sound does to him before leaving his seat altogether and crawling onto Benny’s lap. His feet barely touching the floor on either side as he straddles him. Everything feels like it’s on fire and it’s amazing. So amazing in fact that neither one notices the door to Ethan’s room opening.

* * *

“Ross, there’s something we need to talk about.”

“What is...” Ross stops when he sees his wife’s face. It’s ashen and filled with worried. He puts his paperwork down and gets up from his desk, taking the two steps towards her. “Are you okay?”

Samantha nods her head and turns to look her husband in the eye. “It’s about Ethan.”

“Oh, oh no, did you find drugs in his laundry?” Ross’ hand reaches for the towels in the basket she’s holding but she shakes her head.

“No it’s um, well it’s about him and Benny. I uh...I found them...well I was going to drop off these towels and I found them... _together_.”

“Honey, those two have been... _Oh God!_ Do you mean you walked in on them having sex?! This house has a strict no underaged sex rule!”

“No, oh God no. I did find them making out and....wait, you don’t seem too surprised.” She levels a stare at her husband of twenty years.

“Oh well, you see...” he scratches the back of his head. “It really wasn’t my business to tell.”

“That Ethan and Benny suck face?”

“No? I uh...I walked in on them too but Ethan was simply expressing his feelings via a video call to Benny. And I promised our son that I wouldn’t say a word until he was ready.”

”Oh sweetheart, that’s so nice of you.” Samantha caresses his cheek before planting a soft kiss onto it. “I hope he wasn’t keeping it from me because he thought I wouldn't accept him. Honestly, I'm just a little horrified to have walked in on my own son playing tonsil hockey on Benny’s lap than the fact that it’s with another boy.”

“Really?” The blush runs from the top of Ross’ head to his neck and into his shirt. “I’ll have that image seared in my mind forever.”

“Yeah, well you didn’t see it first hand.” Samantha closes her eyes for a moment. “We should have the talk with both of them. Again. But with more...audience specific information.”

“Way ahead of you honey.” Ross goes back to his desk and removes pamplets from the bottom drawer. He walks over to Samantha and shows them to her. They’re all brightly colored and politically correct brochures on the wonders of safe sex, std prevention, and one was about coming out.

“What did I ever do to deserve such an amazing man?” She smiles up at Ross.

“You said you’d still go out with me after sucker-punching me.”

“That was an accident!”

“A violent one.” Ross wraps an arm around his wife’s shoulder and kisses her soundly on the mouth.

“Mom....Dad.”

The Morgans end their kiss and turn around to find Ethan and Benny standing in the hall. Samantha snatches the pamplets from Ross’ hand, tucking them under the towels in her basket. She notes that the boys are holding hands rather tightly.

“There’s something you need to know about me and Benny.” Ethan says hestiantly. His skin is flushed red as is Benny’s but he seems more frazzled. Maybe Samantha had made too much noise on her way down the stairs and now they were panicking.

“Yeah, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, your son and I are in what the kids call an exclusive relationship.”

“Benny.” Ethan sighs.

“That is to say, Ethan and I are dating and plan to be with each other for an unforseeable amount of time and maybe get married and buy a house and three dogs, one definitely named Sharkie and....”

“Mom, Dad, I love Benny for a million reasons you probably can’t see right now and he loves me back and it would be super cool if you guys were okay with it?”

“What he said.” Benny nods quickly.

“Honeyyyyy...” Samatha puts down the laundry basket and approaches her son with open arms. She brings him into a bone crushing hug and kisses the top of his head. “As long as you’re happy, so are we.”

“That’s right.” Ross steps closer, placing his hand on Benny’s shoulder. “I’m glad to see you boys have taken your relationship further but understand that this house has a strict no underaged sex rule.” He levels Benny his best I-may-have-a-shotgun-in-my-office look. Not that he does but he feels it appropriate for the warning.

“Wouldn’t want you to be a grandpa before you’re ready, am I right?” Benny chuckles.

“ _Benny_.” All three Morgans groan.

* * *

“I always had a feeling I might not live long enough to attend Benny’s wedding but to think I simply slept through it is a little upsetting.”

“Granny, it was a soulbinding ritual, not a wedding.” Sarah’s smiling though, helping Evelyn set up the dining table.

It’s been two weeks since defeating Stern and the Lucifractor, for good this time. Whitechapel itself seeming to understand the enormity of this and had been the picturesque quiet town it pretended to be. That gave everyone a chance to recuperate and so tonight they were finally celebrating.

“In ancient times, that ritual was the wedding ceremony. It’s where the euphemisms tying the knot and taking the plunge comes from.” Eveyln makes a point to raise her one eyebrow as high as it could go.

Sarah stops in arranging place mats. “Do you think....Benny and Ethan know that?”

“Those boys are too busy _canoodling_ to notice anything right now.” She laughs a little, setting the bowl of salad down in the center of the table. “But this does give me a chance to attend the nonmagical wedding I’m sure they’ll eventually have.” Evelyn says the last part more to herself than Sarah, walking back into the kitchen.

Sarah is left smiling, placing the last of the forks and knives down into their respective places. She feels her phone vibrates and pulls out from her back pocket to see the screen reading “Erica Calling”.

“Hey! Are you...”

“Hey Sarah, Rory and I are gonna....” there’s a struggle somewhere in the background before Erica is speaking again. “A little late, you guys can obviously eat without us.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Rory just decided to piss of some pixies and now we’re bartering with their elders to not make him into stew. I already texted Jane so she should have an answer for me soon.”

“You sure, do you need...”

“Sarah, babe, I’m fine. I just didn’t want you to think I flaked. Tonight’s important for us.”

“Thanks Erica I app....

“Gotta go, they don’t look too happy.” Erica ends the call, leaving Sarah staring at her phone. She’d been nervous all day at school and even now, knowing she was going to be surrounded by her friends who once accepted her as a vampire. She was afraid they’d stop her and Erica, or say that it was dumb but seeing Benny and Ethan as happy as they were, it really enforced Sarah’s need to go out and do it and with graduation looming, she had less time to think about it.

“Sarah? Sweetheart are you there?” Evelyn has her head peeking out from the kitchen, a bushel of herbs in one had.

“Sorry, I spaced out.”

“That’s okay dear, I was asking if you could cut up some of this parsely for garnish.”

“Yeah, of course.”

* * *

Erica and Rory arrive just in time for dessert with minimal scratches and bruises and absolutely no pixie hexes. Jane would double check later. They all sit around the table, talking adamantly about one topic to the next with Evelyn at the head of the table, absolutely enthralled by the happy voices. Of course that means she noticed the way Sarah has kept quiet for most of the meal. And how she keeps sending Erica panicked glances across the table who only responds by a facial expression that read simply as " calm down". It really wasn't something to be embarrassed about and Evelyn wonders where Sarah had developed all this newfound shyness.

“So wait, no one knows your eye color changed because they think it’s always been like that?” Rory asks through a spoonful of Evelyn’s special blood pudding.

“Yeah. It’s like a charm, it only tricks the brain into thinking it’s normal now, not that it’s always been like that.” Benny explains.

“Yeah, just the other day mom was looking at an old photo of me and said ‘you have your father’s eyes dear’.” Ethan frowns. He hadn’t a chance to finish his dessert because Benny had inhaled his own serving of banana pudding to then swapped plates. He eyes his boyfriend who is taking the last bite of said pudding and watches as his cheeks grow red.

_**You owe me.** _

_**I’m sure we can work a barter system, a set of favors for services if you will.** _

_**Oh I’m certain...** _

“Everyone, Sarah has something she’d like to tell you all.” Evelyn’s voice cuts all conversation.

Sarah gives Evelyn a horrified look to which she simply smiles.

“Everything okay Sarah?” Ethan asks. Yes he could easily read her mind and find out but that would be rude.

“Yeah uh....Erica and I...” Sarah sends a pleading look at the blonde who is already smiling, her eyes looking nowhere but Sarah.

“Sarah and I are moving to Montreal so we can attend Hogwarts.”

“Hogwarts isn’t real, even I know that.” Jane scoffs.

“It’s not Hogwarts, its Hogworths. It’s an institution run by witches where I can learn more about magic and develop my craft.” Sarah elaborates, her fingers lacing together in a nervous habit.

“So why is Erica going? And how come I haven’t heard of it? Can I go? Do you get sorted? When do you start? Are you tryna be a better witch than...”

“ _Benny_.” the entire room warns.

“I’m going because Sarah is my best friend and I’m not letting her go alone to a school full of witches. Someone has to look out for her.”

“And I’m the one who told her about Hogsworth.” Evelyn says calmly. “And before you complain Benny, no I don’t think you’d do any good there. You’re too irresponsible with your magic and they’re mantra is _In Discipline there is Magic_. You’re better off learning as you go with the rest of us keeping you in line.”

“Fair enough.” Benny suceeds.

“When do you leave?”

“The day after graduation. Grandma Weir got me in touch with the scholarship board and I was accepted with a probationary clause. They’ve never had a human who used to be a vampire.”

“Or a vampire.” Erica flashes her fangs. “And we passed their dumb lil magic mojo test with flying colors.”

“Can I go?” Jane asks.

“When you’re a little older but certainly.”

“Congratulations Sarah, and you too Erica. I know you guys are gonna be amazing!” Ethan beams at the two girls.

“Wait, Erica, you can do magic?” Benny asks.

“Potions mostly. Sarah usually does the incanting but by my own supernatural nature, I have latent magic ablities as well. Just gotta drag ‘em out.” Erica flips her head like it’s no big deal. Even though a week ago during said magic mojo test she was more than worried she wouldn’t pass and Sarah would leave her for good.

“Dang Rory, you’re gonna have to step up your game now.” Benny smirks towards Rory who this entire time has been silently following along with his big blue eyes.

“I guess now is a good time to tell you I’ve become the Pixie King’s Champion and I’m expected to protect all of Pixiekind until my dying day?” He offers happily.

“I thought you said they just wanted your jacket.” Erica points her fork at him accusingly.

“Yeah, they did.” Rory smiles, taking the last bite of his dessert. “It’s how I accepted their offer.”

Awkward glances are exchanged until Benny bursts into a fit of giggles. Ethan goes to shush him but Erica erupts into a laugh. Then Sarah and Jane until even Evelyn is laughing, shaking her head back and forth. Ethan finally submits when Rory is beaming even brighter.


End file.
